One Chance
by MtnDew26
Summary: Maybe if Prim had been a little braver, a little quicker, maybe, just maybe, she wouldnt have let Katniss volunteer. How Prim deals with the Hunger Games, Peeta, and a choice. Go home to her sister, or bring home someone who deserves to love her sister.
1. Chapter 1

Prim kicked the rocks around the road on our way to the reaping. She was fidgeting with the hem of her dress and playing with the fingers of my hand that she held on to. I could tell she was nervous. Not nervous for herself, of course. That wasn't how Prim thought. She had never been that selfish. Not that it is a selfish thought, to be afraid of the reaping. It's natural to not want to be sentenced to death. And in District 12, that is exactly what it was. It may be different for the other districts, especially 1, 2, and 4. In those districts, people train all their life for their shining moment. The moment where they can stand up on the stage and say 'I volunteer as tribute for District bla bla bla'. Sure, in the rich districts there was plenty of that.

District 12 was not a rich district by anyone's standards. Nobody had volunteered in decades. We were all too afraid of the impending death that was brought by your name being reaped. But those weren't the thoughts that were going through Prim's mind. She thought of me. She thought of Gale. She thought of Rory. She thought of every kid in her class at school. She thought of all their older brothers and sisters who were also in the reaping. She thought of the boy and girl, most likely from the Seam, who would not be celebrating tonight.

"Stop over thinking this, Prim." I tried to give her a smile. I'm not sure if it worked. Either way, it did not lighten her mood.

"I just really don't want it to be you." Prim ducked her head and sighed in defeat. "I really really don't want it to be you."

I could almost feel my heart break. "It won't be, Prim. It won't be. The odds are completely in our favor...there are thousands of little slips. We'll be fine." This is partly true. She will be fine. She only has one slip, while I have over twenty, and Gale over forty.

"But there are some kids in my class that have six or more brothers and sisters...and they all checked out a tesserae for each brother and-"

"Prim, Prim!" I desperately shut her up before she began to cry. "Thousands of slips. We'll be fine."

"Okay." She nodded and kept fidgeting.

[•] [•] [•]

"Welcome, welcome all!" Effie Trinket's shrill voice rang out through the square. "It's a big, big day isn't it?" She said with excitement. "Now before we begin," She pursed her lips for a moment. She seemed like she was struggling to keep her composure. I'm sure she didn't like being assigned to District 12, the least enthusiastic district of all. "We have a special video from President Snow brought to you ALL the way from the Capitol." She emphasized the word Capitol and I heard the boy next to me groan. The video played and Effie gave us a winning smile as it ended. "I just love that story! Now let's get down to business, shall we? Boys first this year."

She reached her pale white hand into the cleanest glass bowl you could find in District 12. It sat upon a well finished brown table, Next to the girls' bowl. These were Capitol tools. They would not be seen after today until next year's reaping. Her hand rummaged around until she found a piece of paper worthy of picking. Her smile was still plastered on her face as she pulled the little slip and opened it carefully.

"Congratulations to..." She began cheerfully, "Peeta Mellark!"

My stomach twisted into an unpleasant knot. Of all people, it was him. I wasn't sure how I felt about this. Peeta was the boy who saved our lives, a common unspoken memory in the Everdeen house. He had given us bread when we had nothing else but dead flies to eat. I still owed him my life, Prim's life to this day, and to this day I had tried to find some way to pay him back. Yet now, he was going into the games. I would never be able to pay him back. My feelings were mixed. This is a good thing, I tell myself, because I would never have to pay him back. But then again, it is equally bad because it means I will owe him forever. And even worse, this boy will forever be somebody that I was indebted to, and gave up on repayment. This will torture me forever. For my sake, I hope he wins, although it is doubtful. We haven't had a winner for district twelve in twenty-four years. My mind is still reeling, and taking in all of this information at once when Effie Trinket reached her hand in the glass bowl again.

"Now, who will be the lucky lady to join in on these fantastic games, hmm?" She shuffled the pieces of paper a few times before pulling out one stiff piece of paper with careful handwriting.

"Primrose Everdeen."

Primrose Everdeen.

Primrose Everdeen.

Everdeen.

Primrose.

Prim.

My Prim.

District 12's Prim.

I heard crying and wondered who was crying for her fate before I realized it was Prim crying. Her tears were muffled as she walked slowly and carefully towards the stage.

"No! NO, PRIM! I volunteer! I volunteer, I'll do it!" The desperation made my voice crack but it could still be heard from afar in the quiet, echoing square.

Effie Trinket smiled. "Well, isn't this interesting! Does somebody else want the glory here? Yes, very good." She cooed. "But I do believe there is a proce-" Her sentence was cut off.

"No!" Prim was walking backwards but towards the platform. "You can't volunteer without my permission!"

"Prim, you don't know what you're talking about, let me GO!"

"I DO know what I'm talking about, Katniss! You can't go up there unless I back down, and Im not backing down! My name got picked, you're not going to risk your life for mine!"

Effie cleared her throat. "Yes, there is that." She added matter-of-factly.

"Prim..." I was crying now, and I didn't care. I didn't care because I didn't even feel like we were in public anymore. This was a private moment here, just Prim and I. I couldn't even think about the camera crew televising this to all of Panem.

"Katniss. Just let me go." She said softly and then turned around to walk towards the platform. I sort of zoned out after that. The guards harshly yanked me back all the way to the small chained off section with the other sixteen year olds. My eyes trailed Prim but my mind was completely blank. I vaguely remember thinking that I was losing two important people today.

[AUTHORS NOTE]

Okay so that was chapter one of one of my first fanfiction ever, so please please pleeeeaaase review. Most of you know the feeling of putting up a fanfiction and being afraid of somebody thinking it was so bad that they track you down and kill you with a spoon...(no? Just me? Ok Never mind) So if you like it, please review, and if you don't...put down the spoon please:)


	2. Chapter 2

Life in district 12 had always been routine. Time never sped up or slowed down, and there were no real changes to this routine. Katniss hunted, I went to school, Mom would stay home around the house, I would walk to the square with Rory and Gale after school, we would hang out, I would go home and do school work before helping Mom and Katniss with the house. Then came sleep, and the next morning that would follow the same routine. Things didn't change except for on holidays when district 12 celebrated mandatory traditions, birthdays, when we would go out of our way to have a gathering in celebration, and reaping days, when there was no school, no work, no anything. In fact, all there was to do on realing days were worry. I had never really felt change before.

I began to feel it when I stepped on that platform.

"Hellooooo..." Effie Trinket cooed in excitement. "Prim, is it?"

I gave her a brief nod.

"Well someone's excited for the Hunger Games, isn't she?" She led me to Peeta Mellark. I knew exactly who he was. He was the boy who saved our lives. Katniss pointed him out a few years ago. He had changed since then. He was bigger. We shook hands grimly.

We were rushed to the Justice Building, where all the Capitol officials would go to congratulate the tributes. It was where we had our last visits as well. Katniss came first. She did not knock, but just barged in and pulled me into a hug.

"Don't be mad," I mumbled, in tears.

"I'm not mad." She wasn't crying anymore, but she was close.

"Th-then what are you...?"

"Scared..."

"Me too."

We just stood in an embrace for what could have been minutes. She pulled away sharply and took a deep breath.

"Okay, youre a healer. So if you get hurt, you can get better. And if you're allies with anyone then they can get better too. That's an advantage. Although you might not want to make allies, or at least not make friends. You have to keep in mind that only one can survive, and if that's you, then they'll have to die. Maybe you shouldnt make allies at all. Unless you need them, which you might. It could help you in the end. It really depends on the tribute. Just don't get attached. You can do this, Prim. Just don't forget these kind of things. You can survive this. Gale and I have taught you how to make a couple snares. They'll train you more before you get in there. So you can hunt. You won't go hungry. Youll need to learn how to use a weapon. Try them all in case there is something you're naturally good at. If not, practice them all. You don't know what they'll give you to fight with. Next you need water. Find a water source and carry as much as you can on you at all times. Then protection, find a good shelter where you can stay hidden. Like a tree, or a cave, or a ditch, or something. Most importantly, don't fall for Capitol tricks. Don't go to any feasts, battles, don't run to the cornucopia. Get out of there. That's where a lot of tributes die. You need to be careful. You need to be aware of everything. You need to be-"

She was cut off by a Peacekeeper who barged in. "Times up. Next visitor."

"No, Katniss, wait!" I ran to her and gave her hug.

"Times up!" The Peacekeeper barked and took Katniss by the arm harshly.

"I love you!" She screamed on her way out.

"I love you too!" Tears filled my eyes and I dropped to the ground into a fetal position where I laid until the next knock on the door.

PEETA'S POV

My body had been numb since I had watched the private yet public exchange between Katniss and her sister. It took everything in me to not hug her. That would probably just confuse her. Why? Oh that's right because she's not stalking you too. She's completely oblivious of you, and you would be that weird baker kid who hugged her randomly. I ran my hand through my hair and layer down on the couch in the visitors room. It was a simple set up. One couch, one table, one chair, no windows.

The first visitor I had was my brother Sam. He didn't say much. In fact he didn't say anything for the first few minutes. We just sat in silence, avoiding each others glances. We weren't the closest of brothers, but he was the most moral of the three of us and probably felt obligated to do this. When the peacekeeper knocked on the door, indicating our time was up, he shook my hand and nodded.

"Good luck man."

"Yeah, thanks."

"It'd be kinda cool if my big brother won this whole thing y'know?"

"Yeah, I guess." We nodded and he left.

PRIM'S POV

I couldn't tell who had opened the door because my head was still on my knees as I cried. I felt arms encircle me and I tilted my head up to see Gale.

"Hey." He said softly. "How you doin'?"

"Not too good." I chuckled through my tears.

"Yeah me neither."

I knew we wouldn't have long, especially after the last peacekeeper had to drag Katniss away. I sat up and looked him in the eyes. "You gotta take care of Katniss while I'm gone."

"I will. I promise." He nodded reassuringly.

"Shes gonna need her big brother while her sister is away."

I could feel him stiffen, but I got past it to keep talking. "And if I don't...I-if I don't come back..."

"Shh, you will. You will come back."

"But if I don't..."

"You WILL."

"...okay." I gave up and hugged him tight. "I love you, Gale."

"I love you too."

[PEETAS POV]

There was arguing outside. I could hear the peacekeeper's rough voice. "You don't need to see him. You already saw the other one."

The voice he was talking to was to soft for me to hear.

"Fine. But I'm turning you in if anything happens to him in there." There was a pause. The door began to open. "Not a scratch!" I heard the amplified voice sound with the final warning. The door shut as quickly as it had been opened and before I knew it, I was looking at Katniss for the last time I ever would. "Katniss...what are you doing here...?"

"I don't know." She said quickly. Sitting down on the couch, she avoided my gaze.

"Thank you. I don't know why you did it, and I don't care. But thank you."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Five years ago. The bread. It's saved us. I owe my life to you. Prim...prim owes you her life. And she knows it."

I began to see where she was going. "Katniss...I'm not gonna pull that on her."

"You won't need to. She's gonna be there by herself."

"Well that's not gonna happen, okay?"

"Yeah, you say because you know her so well." She said bitterly.

"I may not know her but I have a plan."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I'm going to ask her to be my ally."

Katniss' whole face lightened at the thought. "You are?"

"Yes. I'll bring her back to you."

"What? But what about you?"

"I don't have much to lose. It's okay if I don't make it. But Prim should come back. Don't tell me you disagree. Everyone loves Prim. She deserves to live."

Katniss is on the verge of tears now. "Thank you...I...I don't know what to...you're so wonderful, Peeta. I'm never going to be able to repay you. I don't even know why you do this kind of stuff. We're complete strangers...thank you so much. Why...why do you do it?"

"Do me a favor?" I say, "Don't ask. Just leave it, I'd like to have a little dignity left on my death bed."

"O-okay. Thank you. Still." She lunged at me and held me in a tight hug. "Goodbye, Peeta."

"Goodbye, Katniss."

She stood to reach for the doorknob and then turned on her heel. "If...if something happens to Prim. Please come home. You don't deserve to die either." She's crying now as she leaves me behind with nothing but that last memory. And I am absolutely terrified that it is most likely my last one with her.


	3. Chapter 3

[PRIMS POV]

We boarded the train that night. It was the smoothest ride I had ever been on; in fact I couldn't even tell we were moving. It was incredibly built, and incredibly comfortable.

I felt nauseous the whole ride.

Peeta was nice enough, though. We sat across from each other in the train car until it became time to go to bed. I never slept. In the morning, we were given more food then I had ever imagined. Peeta was obsessed with hot chocolate. I still hadn't tried it. I was suspicious of everything the Capitol had to offer. Katniss was right in telling me not to fall for Capitol tricks. And in the Capitol, you never know what's real or not. And Katniss is always right. She was right about everything she said, and I planned to do everything she said.

Peeta and I made small talk here and there for the full day and a half it took to reach the Capitol.

"So do you like working in a bakery?" I ducked my head nervously. I couldn't really tell whether he wanted to talk at all, much less if he wanted to talk about home.

"It's alright. Gets hot sometimes." Peeta wasn't showing much emotion.

"I go by there at least once a week. To look at the cakes. Must be nice to be able to eat those whenever you want." My heart aches, remembering those times when Rory and I would walk past those gorgeous windows, hand in hand, pretending we were married with a family. We would always stop there, look at each other, and he would make some sort of joke about working overtime at the "job" he pretended to have so that he could afford to buy me a cake for the "anniversary" we pretended to have.

"I can imagine it would be."

"You don't get to eat them?"

"Nope. Can't afford them."

"Huh."

A couple hours of silence goes by.

"I like the cakes." I mention again. "Your father does a good job on them."

"I'm actually the one who does the frosting. I'm a painter, so..." His sentence went unfinished as if the ending was a given.

"Oh, we'll you do a good job." I offer him a half-hearted smile.

"Thanks." He nods shortly and then goes back to watching the districts rip past us in a blur.

About three hours pass of us looking out the window before he speaks again. "We don't have much in common besides cake, do we?" He said. It surprises me that he has been actually trying to find something to talk about this whole time. It makes me feel less alone.

I chuckle, however little. "Doesn't look like it."

We have a few more conversations about cakes and cookies. He's someone I could become friends with in District 12 if I tried. But I can't think that way now. I just can't. I won't let myself. For a few minutes I let myself fantasize about being allies with him, but give up and settle on fantasizing that the baker sitting across from me wouldn't be the one to kill me. Like the Capitol, I still can't tell what's real or not.

[PEETAS POV]

Effie Trinket enters our train compartment sometime a few hours later. "I bet you guys are so excited!" She says with a plastic smile on her face.

Oh, yes, I think. Thrilled.

"Are you guys prepared? The Capitol is about to get their first look at you! They can't see these boring faces here! Show some excitement! You're about to see the Capitol. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity, you should be grateful."

My face heats up and I give her the meanest glare I can muster. Prim looks worried as she sees the look.

"Peeta...?"

I calm down and shake it off. "Sorry." She calms me a lot easier than a lot of people ever have. I just keep telling myself that I have to try to keep my cool for her. And for Katniss.

"What do we have to do?" Prim says to Effie.

"Just...smile. Look happy! You'll need sponsors to survive these games. This is their first impression." She leaves us with that and hobbles away on her ridiculous heels.

"Look happy. Sure." I scoff sarcastically.

"It's worth a shot." Prim mumbled. "We might not be able to pull off happy, but we could probably pull off overwhelmed."

I shook my head. "I hate this so much. We aren't even there yet, and we already have to start with the lies."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. I just hate these games. They're all just full of lies."

"I'm scared." I looked over at her, her small feet dangling over the edge of the large seat, not touching the ground. She looked so vulnerable. No wonder she was scared. I was scared too. I was scared for her.

"I am too. But you were really brave to not let your sister take your place. She's scared for you too."

"Really? How would you know?" Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"She uh, she came to visit me."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"To talk about you."

"She asked you to go easy on me, didn't she?"

"No. She didn't really ask me anything. She just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to take advantage of you."

"Advan- what do you mean?"

"The bread. A few years back. She thought you might feel like you owed me something."

"Oh..." I suddenly felt awful for bringing it up. I cursed at myself as I realized that she may not have been thinking that way before. And if she wasn't, she definitely is now.

"Please don't think that way. Can we just start over? I don't want you going into that arena thinking that way."

"Okay...if that's what you want." She swallowed. "But you did save our lives. So thank you."

I stood and motioned for her to as well. Pulling her into a hug, I heard her begin to cry. I could tell this is what she needed right then. Not necessarily from me, but I allowed her to pretend I was Katniss and cry into my hug. Apparently this subject was a soft spot for both Everdeen sisters. Just as I rested my head on the top of hers, which was the perfect height for such a thing, the doors to the train compartment opened again, and this time, flashes filled the room as photographers and media took pictures and video of our moment.

Prim and I look up just in time for the announcement.

"District 12 Tributes, welcome to the Capitol!" It was met with applause from the media and staff.

**Hey, you see that pretty little review button down there? You should press it :D Cuz that would make me suuuuper super happy. And while youre pressing that button, leave me a comment about how excited you are for March 23, THE DAY OF ALL DAYS. Because this week is just about the slowest week of my LIFE, and it might make me feel a little better if I felt like I wasn't the only one dying for Friday to come faster :P**


	4. Chapter 4

[Prim's Point of View]

I felt myself being pulled as Peeta tore me away from the bright lights of the cameras flashing everywhere I looked. It was the worst feeling in the world, to break down and cry into a complete stranger's embrace, while the world takes pictures and judges you on one of your weakest moments. I could tell Effie would be disappointed. I worried for a moment that Katniss would be disappointed too. I wasn't trying my best to get sponsors. But surely she would know that I couldn't help it. I'm not strong like she is. Peeta tugged me along, and I trailed behind in a haze until we reached the steps of the Capitol building. He turned around with a stern look on his face.

"That's enough. You've seen us; you've welcomed us, now would you mind giving us some god damn privacy?" He said harshly. There was a silence throughout the crowd for a moment before they erupted in flashes and questions again. Peeta shook his head and led me inside. We were still hand in hand.

Two peacekeepers followed inside and told us to follow him the room where we would meet our mentor. It was eerily quiet in the hallways, as if every room was soundproof. The door was unlocked, and when we walked in we heard screaming.

"THEY'RE MY TRIBUTES! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"Haymitch! Calm down! There's no need to be yelling...I'm trying to help you!" Effie Trinket' shrill voice rang out.

"NO! YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE TRYING TO HELP YOURSELF! This is all about your precious little job! You're just trying to get yourself a better district!" His drunk voice rang out in the room as Prim and I turned our heads back and forth towards the screams.

"OKAY MAYBE I AM LOOKING OUT FOR MY JOB! WHAT'S IT TO YOU? YOU! YOU NEED MY HELP!"

"I don't need ANYTHING from you!"

"Hey, it was a good idea! What's your problem with me anyway? I'm from the Capitol, I know how they think, and you could use that kind of insight!"

"Oh you just think you're so special because you're from the CAPITOL! Because everything and anything good only comes from the Capitol. Well how about you try to get through the Hunger Games and become a mentor, AND THEN YOU COME BACK AND TELL ME ABOUT INSIGHT! Oh wait," He said sarcastically. "You're from the Capitollll," He emphasized the last word. "They could never risk anyone that precious in the Games, so of course YOU'LL MEVER UNDERSTAND!"

Haymitch was fuming, Effie was looking overwhelmed, and I was starting to realize that they were talking about Prim and I. I cleared my throat. "Do you mind?" I asked harshly. Probably too harsh to be the first time speaking to the one person I'm going to depend my life on I a week, but I was getting tired of it.

"You must be Haymitch..." Prim says politely and sticks her hand out to shake. He stares at it for a moment and she puts it down awkwardly.

"Peeta, Primrose, welcome. We need to talk."

"You're NOT talking to them about this! They're my tributes!" Haymitch threw his shot glass against the wall and it shattered.

"What does it matter? You want them to live don't you? Like I said, you need me. I may not know the hunger games from the inside but I know the Capitol. Work with me here!"

"No!"

"Why don't we let them decide if they want to live or not." Effie crosses her arms in front of her chest and the two of them turn to face us.

"Well?" Haymitch says.

Prim coughs before saying, "I don't see why we can't work together. If she's offering to help."

Haymitch scratched his beard. "I give up. Whatever. Take them. Train them. Watch them die. It's time somebody else gave it a shot anyway." He paused. "Speaking of shots..." His voice drifted off as he left the room to look for a drink.

"Well..." Effie was flustered but recovering from it. "Back to that talk. We decided on an angle for you two." The 'we' was a stretch but I ignored it.

"An angle? What are you talking about?"

"Well you aren't going to get any sponsors by being the baker from 12 and the little girl whose sister thought she wasn't strong enough to be in the Games. Honestly, you two are a very bad choice right now. You need something more."

Prim looked on the verge of tears again, but I could tell she was trying hard to be strong so Effie wouldn't have something else to hold against her. "Alright, what do we do?" I said in a soft voice.

"We already know who you are, so there can't be any blood relations...but from what I've seen from you two and from what I just saw back there, I think you two can pull off a 'brother-sister' thing. Not literally, of course. We already know your names. You just need to exaggerate that bond. Sound good?"

Prim and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"There's a catch, though."

"Well, what is it?"

"You'll have to be allies." Effie tapped her fingers together as if this was some type of deal breaker for us. I looked down at Prim for quick confirmation and then we looked at Effie at the same time and said, "We will."

Effie's face lit up. "Wonderful! Yes that will at least get some pity sponsors!" She said cheerfully.

HOURS LATER- [Prim's POV]

Cinna sat me down and took a deep breath. I could tell I was going to like him. He was so different from everybody else. He wasn't self obsessed like my prep team. He wasn't obsessed with colorful styles like Effie; he wasn't a depressed drunk like the man I had gotten to know to be my mentor. In fact he was the nicest man I had met since I had come to the Capitol.

"So tonight. It's the tribute parade. You need to get sponsors. Has that been explained to you yet?"

I nodded eagerly. Haymitch and Effie explained the entire sponsor ordeal in great detail for me. And I already had my plan. The only way I was going to get through the Games was if I became Peeta's "little sister". It honestly didn't come as a shock. I thought it would too. Knowing that I would have to live a lie for the rest of my life. Potentially. We weren't lying to much, I would think, trying to justify myself. But our bond was only from what happened on the train and the fact that he had saved our lives five years ago. We were in no way friends, and I would not let my mind wander in that direction. I guess living a lie is not so outrageous once you've had to deal with the Capitol all your life as well. There comes a point where you are numb to their horrible actions.

"Okay. So some tips. Smile, wave. Grasp their attention and keep it. No matter what you do, keep their attention. Because the more sponsors you have, the less the other tributes do."

I keep nodding and Cinna gives me a kiss on the forehead and a hug. I hold the embrace for a little longer than normal. It may have been embarrassing in any other circumstance, but right now, I know I may die in the next few weeks, and Cinna reminds me of Daddy. In the Capitol, it's hard to find something that precious, so I take advantage.

"Good luck, little girl." He does not say it in a mocking tone, but in a sweet and caring way. When he leaves, I am left alone with Peeta.

"You ready for this?" He says.

The sudden-ness of it hits me and I realize we only have maybe a half hour before we have to go out, all dressed up in the streets of the Capitol. "I don't think so..."

"Why not?"

"How am I supposed to do this?" Tears sting my eyes. "I'm trying to get people to bet on when I'll die? And for what? Pure entertainment. How fair is that?"

Peeta took a deep breath and kneeled in front of me in an attempt to get on my eye level. It resulted in me being the taller one, but we were closer now at least.

"Okay listen to me, Prim. We both know that you are the sweetest, nicest, most amazing little sister in District 12." He says this for the cameras, who will assume he is talking about himself, but we both know he is talking about Katniss.

"But the Capitol citizens don't know that, do they?"

"No..."

"Exactly. So if they don't know you, it doesn't mean you don't exist. So while you're out there, think about how there might be a Capitol Prim. Someone who is just like you, but was raised in the Capitol. Which was not their fault. So while you're out there, be looking for that Capitol Prim, and show her who you really are, okay? Because if you can't trust yourself to see the true you, you can't trust anyone. Do you know what I mean?"

"Mmhm..." I think about it for a second and it begins to make more sense. "Thank you." I mumble before pulling him into a hug. This hug does not last as long as our last one, but is interrupted in the same way. Cameras start flashing instantly to get pictures of the District 12 tributes. I try to pull back but Peeta is holding tight. Confusion hits me before I get it. Hold the hug, emphasize the brother-sister bond, let them have a good picture, and then we'll be done. And that's exactly what we do.

Standing as we move through the parade, I hold Peeta's hand for balance and for our brother-sister bond effect we are supposed to give off. Our hands swing back and forth as we greet the crowds with smiles and waves. I don't even know how we manage to do it. I was terrified just seconds ago and now I was all caught up in the moment, and even a little excited.

That excitement came crashing down the moment our chariot stopped and I came hurtling back to reality. Peeta hugged me.

"You did good, kiddo." Cinna gave me a pat on the back and Haymitch nodded from about ten feet away. Peeta was still smiling.

"Do you think we got enough sponsors there?" He asked Haymitch optimistically.

"This is the Hunger Games, kid. You'll never have enough sponsors."

_**Alright guys, this is the part where I need your help. I haven't gotten many reviews, which leads me to believe that this isn't a very good story, which I understand because its my first one. But I need to know what your opinion is whether it's a good or a bad one, because I need to figure out whether im gonna continue this or not. So please please review and help me figure that out, because I do have some pretty extensive plans for this story but I don't think its going to be worth writing all those chapters if nobody wants to read them…so help me out please!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Training starts tomorrow. I lay in bed, staring at the forest green sky that adorned my ceiling. Tomorrow, I would face those who had trained for years, those who could outrun, out throw, out kill, and most likely outlive me. But that isn't what bothered me the most. The most bothersome of all was that tomorrow I would see who I would have to kill, if I wanted to get Prim home, that is. There are always a few very weak tributes. Easy targets, they will be referred to as by the Careers. But as I lay in bed, I can't stop thinking of Prim. How was I supposed to keep her from being an easy target? My mind is going in circles.

Easy target.

First kill.

Not fair.

Capitol's fault.

Why her?

Why did it have to be her? As much as it would break my heart even more if I were in this arena with Katniss, I think it would have been easier to deal with. Katniss can hold her own; she wouldn't need protection like Prim will. But, quite frankly, why did it have to be either of them? Anyone in District 12 but them! Someone who I wouldn't have to worry about because I don't care who they are. I wouldn't want to wish this fate on anyone in District 12. Except maybe the hunter guy. The one who is always with her. Hawthorne. I feel a pang of jealousy. I wouldn't want him to die, or at least I don't want myself to be someone to wish death on _anyone._ But I doubt I would have to worry about him dying in these games. He seems like someone who could make it. I bet he'd be better at protecting Prim right now. With all those years of experience in the woods, and with Katniss, he probably knows every way possible to protect the both of them.

I bet he's been doing a fine job of protecting Katniss while her sister is in the Hunger Games. A fine job.

What I wouldn't give to switch places with him. He could protect Prim, I could try to comfort Katniss, and all would be great. But now, he's the shoulder she can cry into, and I have to save her sister from twenty two other tributes who want nothing more than to kill her and go home. And I honestly don't know if I can do that. What I do know is that if I don't, I won't ever be able to face her again. Her death would be on my hands for the rest of my life.

In circles, my mind just keeps going in circles. I won't sleep tonight.

[Prim's POV]

"Up, up, up!" Effie's shrill voice rung out after her three rapid fire knocks. "It's going to be a big, big day!" Three more knocks.

I groan into my pillow before I push myself up and practically crawl into my clothes.

"They'll need you at the Training Center at eleven! Don't be late!" Effie added before the door went silent, indicating she had left.

I ate breakfast with Peeta. Neither of us spoke. Today was going to be the day I asked him the pivotal question that had plagued my mind. It would be today. Sure, Effie had told us we needed to be allies, but how do I know he won't turn on me? Or how do I know if he even really wants to be allies? I shake my head at myself. Of course he doesn't want to be allies with me. What do I really have to offer as an ally? I'm a weak twelve year old who hasn't ever used a knife for anything more than spreading butter on tesserae grain.

Training lasts for two hours before we can eat lunch. They take us through the center, give us a small tour, explain the rules and consequences, and then we train. I've try every station because quite frankly I need training on everything but healing. When it comes to survival, I could probably make it. I think back to what Katniss said about my advantages but I can't really think of any legitimate ones besides survival skills. And hunger. I have an unnatural patience for hunger.

And this is the Hunger Games.

I sit next to Peeta at lunch again, but I have more confidence because I have been building up this moment all morning.

"Hi." I say tentatively.

"Hey. How's training going for you?" He is eating massive amounts of food, which is surprising because he has a reputation for being well fed due to his profession.

"Good." I try to say confidently so that he may think I have legitimate skills.

"Y'know Haymitch and Effie said that we shouldn' separate. We might wanna work toge'er more offen." He says through a mouthful of beef tips and mash potatoes.

"About that...I wanted to ask you something..."

"Shoot."

"Doyoureallywanttobemyally?" It comes out one long word.

He furrows his eyebrows and then recognizes my word as a sentence. He swallows his mouthful. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I'm not a very reliable ally..."

He set down his fork and wiped off his mouth with a napkin. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not very invested in this game. I know my chances as a District 12 tribute aren't very good. We'll have a better chance of having a victor between us if we work together."

It wasn't making any sense, the words he had just said. "What do you mean? You're not invested? Are you giving up? Are you even going to try?" It felt like he was protecting me again, and I didn't need to keep owing him my life.

"Just forget it, okay? Let's go train." He took a sip of his drink before getting up and walking to a station nearby. I sighed and got up to follow.

The next few days of training continued the same. We tried to be discreet about any skills we had, while fine tuning those we didn't. At lunch on our last day of training, I ate lunch with someone besides Peeta. Instead, I sat two seats from the little girl from District 11.

I remember now how yesterday, the big District two tribute had gotten into a fight over his knife. He had yelled and screamed and pushed the guy from District 3 around yelling for his knife, and when I looked up, the little girl from 11 was laying face down on the net hung up on the ceiling, with his knife and smiling to herself. I'd watched her since then and learned that she was me, but a version of me with so much more confidence.

"Hi, what's your name?" I started off with.

"...Rue. What's yours?"

"I'm prim!" I was so happy she had answered and not brushed me off that I turned in her direction and set down my sandwich. She gave me a big smile, which was reassuring.

"Do you have any allies yet?" I asked.

Rue looked at the male tribute for her district, who was still training, and frowned. "I'm… not sure. Why?"

"Well, do you want some?"

Her smile was back and she nodded. "Wait, some? Who else?"

I nodded to Peeta, who was still at the buffet, loading his plate sky high.

"Ah. He's the boy from your district?"

"Yeah. He's reliable, don't worry. He saved my life once, y'know."

Her eyes bulged out. "Really? How?"

"We live in a very poor district, so one day after my Dad died...we were basically starving. My sister or mother hadn't figured out how to get any food yet, and Peeta, that's his name, he gave us some bread when he wasn't supposed to. I hear he got beaten for it too. At least that's what my sister always told me. I'll never really know the whole story of it. Sometimes I feel like she's trying to protect me too much, and keeps the truth to a minimum." I poured all of this information out without thinking about it, the way I used to with Katniss. I missed her so much.

"Were you close with your sister?"

"The closest." I nod.

So now I had allies with Peeta and Rue, both of which were happy with the other, which I was relieved about. Tomorrow was training with our mentors for the interviews, and then the day after we're the games. Two days until the games. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle any of this.

Okay Please Please PLEASE review. It'll take like five seconds, even if it's a smiley face. Or a sad face, if thats what you feel. Thats all I need. Every time I get a review, I immediately start writing again, so the more reviews, the faster these chapters go up :D And if you guys have any questions at all, please ask and ill respond in the next chapter, or if you leave a review that you want a response to in the next chapter just say so


	6. Chapter 6

[Peeta's POV]

"Okay. We have four hours to figure out what we're going to do with… _this_." Haymitch gestured in our general direction by waving his hands around in the air. He picked his drink up to take a sip and then set it back down on the shiny silver table next to him. It held his drink, a bowl of fruit, and a platter of donuts, along with all of the other tables around us which were covered in delicious foods.

Prim's eyes flickered over Haymitch and then to his drink. She reached out shakily and took the drink from his hand. She set it down on the table next to her, just out of his reach. "Please, Haymitch. Please, just this morning." Prim looked nervous, just at the thought of trying to take Haymitch's drink away.

There must have been something in her look, because Haymitch hesitated before nodding in agreement. "O-okay..." He cleared his throat before beginning again. He looked incredibly uncomfortable without his drink. "So...ideas?"

"Well what worked before? You've seen twenty-three of these games at least, what worked?" I asked eagerly.

"There's no real winner when it comes to approaches, really." Haymitch looked like he was for the first time, invested in our conversation, and I could feel the hope building in me. Prim was smiling with rare confidence. "We just need to find the right one that you can pull off." Haymitch pointed to Prim. "Let's start with you. What are you?" He asked himself this question, not her. "People could sympathize with you. That will get you only so far, though. If you really want sponsors, they need to find something in you that...that could win. That's what's important here. So you need some kind of confidence. But definitely not arrogant. You're too...little for that. How about uh... Cute confidence?"

"Cute confidence?" She giggled a little. "How would that go?"

"Exactly like that! That giggle, right there, do that again!" He snapped his fingers repeatedly at her as emphasis.

She giggled at his excitement, which just egged him on more.

"Exactly! Okay so you just need to be insanely confident to the point where it's cute. That'll get some sympathy sponsors, and if they fall for it, someone might actually think you have a shot at winning."

"How do I show them that I'm confident?"

"You have to say things like…" He seemed like he was trying to grab something in the air. His fingers snapped again, "Oh those District 1 tributes think they're strong, but they haven't seen me throw weights around yet. I've been saving that for the arena!"

Even I laughed at the concept.

"See? It's so ironic, and silly that its utterly adorable. They'll love you."

He turned to me now. "And you. You'll be last of all the tributes, so it's up to you to make sure they remember you. No matter what. We'll pull the 'brother-sister' bond thing on them," He looked back at Prim, "Which you can hint at, by the way," And then back at me, "You gotta make it a big deal, okay? They always ask at some point. They always ask something like 'can you win,' or 'what's your strategy'. That's where you pull out the 'I don't plan to win at all,' or something along those lines."

I swallowed. Did Haymitch know my plan? Of course not, I'd never told anyone, it was impossible for him to know...

"Now if we're being realistic, we gotta know that there's not a high probability of both of your surviving that long. But if you do, and that's a big _if_ …the sponsors will be going crazy, which is just what we need."

I sighed in relief. He didn't know. Nobody knew, nobody but Katniss. And that's the only person who needed to know.

"So that's it?" I asked. "That's all we have to do? Go out there, cute but confident, brother sister bond thing, sponsors groveling at our feet? That's all?"

"That's all."

"I can't believe it's that easy." Prim whispered.

"Oh it isn't." Haymitch shook his head. "When you're out on that stage, with everyone in Panem watching you, it's the most difficult conversation you'll ever have. It's absolutely terrifying. Longest three minutes of your life. You'll do great!" He joked.

"Heh. Yeah." I scratched the back of my head.

"How did you do it, Haymitch?" Prim asked. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity.

"Arrogance. Best approach for a guy like me." He bit into one of the donuts on the platter next to him.

I laughed. I could just see it, too. "How _many_ tributes did you piss off?" Haymitch and I laughed but I soon remembered that I was sitting next to a twelve year old. "Oh, sorry Prim."

"It's fine, once you hang around Gale and Katniss for pretty much all of your life, you get used to it."

"Ah."

Gale and Katniss. Gale being the hunter guy, I assume. I doubt there's anyone else anyway. She's insanely beautiful, but from what I see, unappreciated. I'm fairly certain Gale is my only legitimate competition. But he can have her now, I have to keep telling myself. When I don't come back, she deserves someone else to make her happy. It's my own fault that I never spoke to her before now. At the very least, I know that she isn't going through what I am right now.

Haymitch chuckled at his memories. "Yeah, I basically shut down every talent each tribute had." He was laughing harder now. "I remember uh, there was this one guy from four, that's the fishing district. He was the fastest swimmer in the district for his age, and somebody had convinced him to volunteer that year. I made some joke about how he could swim fast in a pool, and how it was a 'highly dangerous zone' and how he could have died had something happened to his goggles," We were all laughing now. "They ate it up, and honestly I felt a little bad that I had taken all his sponsors." Suddenly he became very serious again. We followed suit. "That is uh, until he killed my ally. That kinda pissed me off." I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood with the blunt profanity, but it didn't work. We had all sobered up, and our moment of fun was gone. The Hunger Games were once again, prominent in our minds.

[Prim's POV]

Peeta and I hugged goodbye for the day, partly for the cameras and partly because we were about to spend six nerve-wracking hours apart while trying to work together. "Good luck." He whispered into my hair.

"You too."

We separated and went into different rooms, one labeled "12 FEM." and the other labeled "12 MAL." I turned the doorknob, expecting to find Effie, ready to coach me on my manners for the remaining hours till the interview.

"Cinna!" I smiled when I saw him standing by the mannequin in the room, which held a small girlish green dress. "Ooh, is that my dress?"

"All yours, little girl. What do you think?"

"I've never dressed up before... I mean, not like this..."

Cinna got down on his right knee and smiled. "Then let's make this memorable." We spent the next few hours trying on heels, jewelry, hair styles, and more to go with the dress. As he did my make-up, I began to chew on my lower lip, which he complained about instantly because I was messing up the lipstick.

"Do you think I can really do this?" I asked nervously.

"Well that depends. What are they having you do?"

"Cute but confident."

"A common technique. I've seen it a million times. They always fall for it." His words were comforting, but in the wrong way.

"I'm sure they'll fall for it. It's just...I don't know if I can do it. I'm not confident. _At all_."

"Do you know anyone who is?"

"My sister. She's the bravest person I know."

"Tell me about her."

Just as I had with Rue, I poured my heart out to Cinna.

"She's incredible. When my Dad died, she kind of took over as provider. She's more like a mother than a sister. But more like a best friend than a mother. She always finds a way to protect me, even if it involves defying the Capitol flat out. She's unbelievably great. She'll sing to me when I'm scared, or lonely. And she's completely selfless. She's gone an entire week without food so that I could eat before. I love her so much. And I'm going to miss her a lot." Tears stung my eyes but I wouldn't let myself cry or else I wouldn't be able to stop.

"So when you're out there, think of how brave she is, and was for you. And remember that you have to be brave for her now. Okay?"

I nod and we embrace for what could have been minutes or hours for all I know.

"I'm going to miss you too, Cinna."

He hugged me tighter.

_**Alright you guys are awesome and know the deal by now…reviews are my fuel when it comes to writing. Whenever I get a review, I get all excited and jump back on the computer to write more, which is probably why ive put out 6 chapters in the last week or so XD its called motivation, and it works like a charm haha**_


	7. Chapter 7

[Peeta's POV]

"Ladies aaaaaaand Gentlemen! Let's have a big round of applause for our host! You know him, you love him! Caesarrrrrrr Flickerman!"

My palms were sweating. We weren't even out there and I could hear the cheers as if I were smack dab in the middle of it. The crowd must be huge, considering that anybody who is anybody in the Capitol comes to see the interviews.

"Thank You! Thank You!" Caesar Flickerman belted out through the microphone. "Now enough about me, let's start with what we're _really _here for." There was a pause before he said, "District 1, how bright will she shine? Let's find out, come out here, GLIMMER!"

I listened as Glimmer flirted with Caesar Flickerman, Marvel went through a well planned comedy act, Cato intimidated the hell out of everyone on stage, and the audience ate it up.

I had moved far enough up in the line so that I could see the stage. I gasped, noticing that the crowd seemed endless. It was an optical illusion the way they were seated, it was a sort of ramp upwards, and there was nothing but filled seats all over every square inch of it.

"So Clove. Tell me, what are your strategies?"

"Well they're something along the lines of... Kill everyone and win." She said with a smile.

Prim turned he head back so she could look me in the eyes and whisper, "Is that...is she trying the cute but confident thing?"

"Yes, but not succeeding. I think it's coming off as...desperate and creepy." I said with a chuckle.

"I hope I don't do that..."

"I'm sure you won't, Prim." I reached forward and held her hand reassuringly as more tributes went by.

When Rue, who I needed to think of as my ally now, stepped forward onto the stage, Prim pulled her hand away and took a deep breath. I'll never know for sure, but I think she was preparing herself to be brave by watching Rue.

Rue was definitely brave, although when it came to fight or flight, she flew away faster than you could say "games". But that was her biggest advantage.

Rue smirked as she spoke to Caesar Flickerman. "Y'know their problem is that to kill me, they'll have to catch me. And that's not so easily done. So don't count me out yet."

"I wouldn't for a second." Caesar replied smoothly.

She was pulling off cute but confident flawlessly, which I really hope helped Prim and not made her feel more nervous. When it was Prim's turn, she took a deep breath and skipped onto the stage.

From that moment on, she became a completely different person on stage.

"Hello, Primrose!" Caesar shook her hand and they sat down.

"You can call me Prim." She said with a cute smile. She was good at this.

"Okay, Prim. So tell me, what do you think of your competition here?"

She sighed and said, "They'll do." The audience laughed loudly along with Caesar.

"Do you think there are any real weaknesses among them?"

"Well some of those tributes aren't uh..." She held her hand up to her face as if telling a secret, but whispered loudly so everyone could hear, "They aren't too strong. I mean I think I'm a lot stronger than some of those older tributes."

Everybody laughed, including me. She was really good.

"Oh, of course, of course." Caesar reassured her. "Now, there's sort of a sensitive subject here that we should address. I believe your sister...tried to volunteer for you at the reaping?"

"Yes. She did."

"What made you get on that stage anyway?"

"She always protects me. And I didn't want her to do it again. I thought that maybe this time I could protect her. And also, I knew that I couldn't live without her."

She was playing on the sympathies of Panem know, and I even I felt close to tears. Maybe it's because it was so true, so heartbreaking, but probably because I knew the feeling.

"Do you think she could have won?" Caesar asked.

"Katniss? Absolutely. But I couldn't risk it. I mean, your biggest competitor is the arena, y'know. She would win in a fight to the death if it weren't for the arena. It adds an unpredictable factor to the entire games."

"You're very smart you know. I have to say if I was in this arena, I'd ally with you."

"Thank you." She said with another smile.

"Speaking of allies. Anyone you're interested in yet?"

"Well I _do_ have an ally...my district partner, Peeta. He's like a big brother to me, so I'm sure we'll be allies to the end, him and me. And there's one other, but I think I'll leave that to be a surprise." She said in a sneaky manner.

It was perfect. She hinted at our relationship and then changed the subject immediately. If I didn't get sponsors in the arena, at least I know that she will.

"Alright well I'll be looking forward to who that is, thank you very much, Prim." They shook hands as she stood and left, and suddenly it was my turn.

"And last but not least, District 12, Peeta Mellark!"

I practically ran out there, faking my excitement for the interview.

"Peeta! Welcome, welcome. How are you today?"

"I'm good, Caesar, I'm real good." Actually , Caesar, Im terrified, thank you very much.

"Well welcome. Are you excited for tomorrow, or what?"

"Oh well I don't know about excited, yknow, I mean I didn't exactly volunteer for this for a reason." I joked. "But Im definitely ready. Definitely prepared, y'know."

"I bet you are. Especially with your little ally there, was she right? Is there a bond there between you two?"

"Oh definitely, yeah I've known her since she was one. District 12 is a small district, y'know, but its rare you find someone as sweet and friendly as Prim."

"So would you consider yourself friends?"

"Absolutely."

Caesar looked saddened by this, probably because everyone knows friendships don't last in the games. "How is that going to affect the games for you?"

"Well, I can tell you right now that there's going to be a winner from District 12 this year, it just won't be me."

"So you plan to protect her?"

"Yes."

"And what if something does happen to her?"

"Then I'll try my hardest to win. There's uh…there's someone very special to me back home that made me promise I would try. So I will."

"Someone special? A girl perhaps?"

I gulped. How should I answer it? I could say yes, and the crowds would go wild, but Katniss would be interviewed like crazy if I said it was her.

"I think I'll just leave that to your imagination, Caesar. She doesn't even know how special she is, so I don't think anyone else should just yet."

"Oh well that's just mean, isn't it?" He said to the audience. There were lots of cheers and hollers for me to say more.

"Well…if you do win. Then she will most definitely have to fall for you as much as you have for her."

"Yeah, I highly doubt that."

"Why is that?"

"Well, if I did make it home… It would mean Prim couldn't. And I'm not the only one who loves her to death. I'm pretty sure she would prefer that Prim wins."

"Oh, well that is unfortunate. Either way, I wish you the best of luck, Peeta."

"Thank you very much, sir."

We shook hands and I stepped off stage towards the room holding Prim, Effie, and Haymitch. When I opened the door, Effie was still watching the TV, Haymitch was giving me a thumbs up with a big smile, and Prim had her arms crossed. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Can I ask you something?" She said. "In private…?"

**Sooo, whattaya think? Pretty please leave me a review And I have a question…do you guys want me to do a little scene from Katniss' point of view to see what she was thinking during Peeta's interview in the next chapter? Let me know :P**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay I got a few requests for this, and I had kind of planned for it already, so here's a little filler chapter about what Katniss thought of the interviews.**

[Katniss' POV]

"Hello, Primrose!" Caesar Flickerman shook her hand on the screen and they sat down. I felt a small rush of anger. They didn't know to call her Prim. They didn't know she had a nickname. They didn't know she was so much more than just a tribute. They didn't know who she was as a person, and they expected to find out in the next three minutes. Everything they did angered me at this point.

"You can call me Prim." She said sweetly. I should have seen it coming. No matter what the situation, Prim is always sweet and cheerful. Even when it came to being nice to complete strangers who were about to bet on her life. I would have punched him.

"Okay, Prim. So tell me, what do you think of the competition here?"

"They'll do…" Was she mocking them? This was a stupid idea, and I hated their mentor instantly. She had just gained enemies from all of the careers and any other tribute with a temper.

"Do you think there are any weaknesses among them?"

"Well some of those tributes uh…well they aren't too strong." I prayed to God that the other tributes had a sense of humor. I thought of Cato, the vicious looking tribute from 2, Clove, the crazed mean girl from 2, the other careers, and even the big male from 11. He looked ruthless.

"Oh, of course, of course." The audience was eating her up, the way she smiled, the way she giggled. It was only slightly reassuring. At least she would get sponsors. I've heard of those, they are the people who send you food, weapons, and supplies in the arena. That must be the only reason she is doing this. Perhaps sponsors are more important than it seems. I sure hope so.

"Now there's a sort of a sensitive subject here that we should address. I believe your sister… tried to volunteer for you at the reaping?"

"Yes. She did." Prim was looking at the cameras now, and I almost broke down. I knew she was looking straight at me, intentionally.

"What made you get on that stage anyway?"

"She always protects me. And I didn't want her to do it again. I thought that maybe this time I could protect her. And also, I knew that I couldn't live without her."

I let the tears spill now, since I was alone anyway. Gale and his family were in his own home, and my mother was in her room. Technically it was illegal to not watch the Games, but at this point she did not care. The capitol had taken everything from her and I, including her sanity. She was done.

I could only imagine what the dramatic Capitol citizens were doing with this information. Probably sobbing gracefully and hopefully sponsoring her.

"Do you think she could have won?" I scoff at the thought. I wouldn't have survived training. I would most likely have punched my mentor in the mouth, mutilated the gamemaker, and possibly shot President Snow himself on the chariot ride through the parade.

"Katniss? Absolutely. But I couldn't risk it." She has too much faith in my self-control. "I mean your biggest competitor in these games is the arena, y'know? She would win in a fight to the death if it weren't for the arena. It adds an unpredictable factor to the entire games."

"You're very smart, you know. I have to say, if I was in this arena, I'd ally with you."

"Thank you."

"Speaking of allies…" I sit up. "Anyone you're interested in yet?"

_Please say Peeta, please say Peeta, please, please, please let Peeta have been telling the truth._

"Well I _do _have an ally… My district partner Peeta." I sigh in relief. He wasn't lying. He intends to help her. "He's like a big brother to me, so I'm sure we'll be allies to the end. And there's someone else, too. But I think I'll leave that to be a surprise for tomorrow." Big brother? That has to be an angle that they're playing. It's the only thing that makes sense. Of course its an angle, I doubt the two have ever had a conversation with each other. At least I know ahead of time. That way, when they interview me, I'll be prepared. They've been friends forever, he's a sweet guy who I would trust with my life and hers, I'll say.

Prim's interview finishes and Peeta is pulled on stage before I can even completely finish my thought.

"Peeta! Welcome, welcome, how are you today?"

"I'm good, Caesar, I'm real good." He was so different from the boy I said goodbye to, it was shocking.

"Well, welcome! Are you excited for tomorrow, or what?"

"Oh well I don't know about excited, y'know, I mean I didn't exactly _volunteer _for this for a reason," He joked. That stung a little. I doubt it was a jab at me, but it still stung. "But I'm definitely ready. Definitely prepared, y'know?"

"I bet you are. Especially with your little ally there, was she right? Is there a bond there between you two?"

"Oh definitely, yeah I've known her since she was one." Well that was a stretch. "District 12 is a small district, y'know, but it's rare you find someone as sweet and friendly as Prim."

"So… would you consider yourself friends?"

"Absolutely."

"So you plan to protect her?" I'm sure I was holding my breath at this point.

"Yes."

"And what if something does happen to her?" _Then come home, _I thought.

"Then I'll try my hardest to win. There's uh… there's someone very special to me back home that made me promise I would try. So I will."

"Someone special? A girl perhaps?"

I couldn't remember seeing a girl in the visitors office before I left. And I'm pretty sure I had stayed for a long time, trying to convince the guard to let me in to Prim's room again. It had to be a girlfriend. He wouldn't call his family "very special" would he? But I can't put a face to a girl. I can't imagine how the girl feels. If she loves him back, she is probably crying right now. I pity her, since I can relate. At least with Prim. Knowing that someone you love might not come home.

"I think I'll just leave that to your imagination, Caesar. She doesn't even know how special she is, so I don't think anyone else should just yet."

Now I pity him.

"Well…if you do win. Then she will most definitely have to fall for you as much as you have for her."

"Yeah, I highly doubt that."

"Why is that?"

"Well, if I did make it home… It would mean Prim couldn't. And I'm not the only one who loves her to death. I'm pretty sure she would prefer that Prim wins."

"Oh, well that is unfortunate. Either way, I wish you the best of luck, Peeta."

"Thank you very much, sir."

My hand covers my mouth as I gasp. A girl who made him promise to come home if Prim did not make it. How could I have not seen this coming? A girl who doesn't know he- no, I cant say the words. Not yet. Not ever. A girl who loves Prim more than him. This had to be an act. But if it was an act, he would have said my name. It would have been so easy. So many sponsors would eat that up. The only reason he wouldn't would be if he didn't want them to use me for interviews or shows, or anything else the Capitol might think would make people watch. If he really cared about that then he must really… no, I won't let myself think that. He's about to die anyway. It would make sense though…

The bread. He gave me that bread for no reason. And then he wouldn't tell me why. My mind is reeling and I give in. Its dark, and it won't do any good, but I run outside, across the roads, under the fence, and into the woods. I keep running until I am exhausted and lay down on the mossy green floor of the forest. I am breathing heavy, and I expect my mind to clear as it usually does in the woods. It never happens, though.

**Well that was supposed to be a "filler" but I guess it just turned into a full-on chapter, which Im okay with XD Anyway, I got a couple questions about Katniss, and I just wanted to clear up that this is a Katniss/Peeta story, so there will eventually be Peeta/Katniss action but first we have to go through the main plot of the story. But trust me, I do have plans for the future. Just stick with the story and PLEASE REVIEWWWW kthanxbye **


	9. Chapter 9

_We shook hands and I stepped off stage towards the room holding Prim, Effie, and Haymitch. When I opened the door, Effie was still watching the TV, Haymitch was giving me a thumbs up with a big smile, and Prim had her arms crossed. She looked like she was about to cry. _

_ "Can I ask you something?" She said. "In private…?"_

[Peeta's POV]

"S-sure." She knew. She definitely knew. Of course she would know, this was Prim after all. Nobody knew Katniss like Prim did. She probably didn't even need me to say all that I had. It would never have taken her this long if she had been looking for it, and now that she had looked for it, she had found it.

We walked silently to our apartment on the top floor. I'm sure Effie and Haymitch were somewhere behind us, but giving us our privacy.

"Just...to clarify." Prim said when she closed the door behind her. "It's her, right? It's Katniss."

"Yeah."

"Was it true?" I could easily back out of this. I could say it was an angle for the audience. It would be so easy had I been with anyone else. But this was still Prim.

"Yes." I lowered my eyes. "But it's no big deal. I mean, I exaggerated a little for the audience, Y'know? I thought it would make things more interesting." I felt awful as soon as the words left my mind. It was a flat out lie, and I was afraid she would call me out on it. I'm sure she would have, had Haymitch not burst in.

"Alright you two. Not to go all strict daddy on you, but its bedtime. You need your sleep and if by some freak accident you actually can sleep tonight, take advantage of it." We just stood there staring at him for a moment. "Did that sound like a request? Move your asses, go." He motioned to our rooms and then moved to his.

Effie stood behind him. "Best of luck to you two." She added with a plastic smile.

[Prim's POV]

Haymitch was right. I wasn't going to fall asleep tonight. I had a sinking feeling that I might not have a good night's sleep for the rest of my life. Which could last anywhere between tomorrow to decades from tomorrow.

I decided to plan my strategy. As soon as I was in the arena, I would run to the nearest hiding spot, preferably a wooded area. I would climb a tree if possible. I was small, so it was doable. Then I would wait out the bloodbath. Wait for Peeta. Wait for Rue. Then we would work from there. I could do that. I could do that.

Yes, I could do that, I told myself.

[Prim's POV]

Morning came faster than I cared for. Soon we were eating an abnormally sized breakfast. Peeta was shoveling it in as if he was starving. I had come to know that he was a nervous eater. I ate a fair portion myself, but kept it to a minimum. I doubt I could keep anything more down.

Haymitch was more eager than ever. He was spouting out information just as Katniss had when she visited me.

"When it starts, there will be a tempting supply in the mouth of the cornucopia. There might be just about anything you might need. But don't go for it. It's a bloodbath, they're just trying to lure you in. And don't step off that pedestal until the sixty seconds are over. If you do, they'll blow you sky high. When you get outta the cornucopia scene, find water. Water is your new best friend. More than anything, don't forget to survive out there, okay? That means find what you need and focus on staying alive, not on killing the others off. Let them do that themselves at first, the less fighting you do, the safer you'll be."

His speech continued as he led us to the launch room. "You guys can do this y'know. I've never been as confident as I am with you two in the past 23 years." He had a serious look on his face and pulled us both in for a tight hug. "Don't let yourselves down."

Tears once again threatened to spill but I took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you, Haymitch."

"You're very welcome."

Peeta and I also hugged before walking into separate launch rooms. Cinna waited inside for me, and the moment I saw him with his arms open for me, the dam inside me broke. I let myself sob into his arms. My time was limited here, anyway. Most likely I would never see Cinna again.

"You'll do fine. You can win this." He said as of reading my mind.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Absolutely. You really are a unique little girl, you know? You are the smartest girl I've ever met, and I know that for a fact. You can do it."

"Thank you..." My entire body was trembling with fear now, at the prospect of what I was about to do.

A robotic voice rang out. "Thirty seconds."

We hugged again until the voice rang out once more. "Twenty seconds."

"You can do it. Go." He nodded and I slowly turned to enter the glass case.

"Ten seconds."

As soon as I was in the case it shut, and before I knew it I was moving upwards. The case became pitch black as I traveled through what could have been miles of earth. Suddenly, the bright white sunlight filled my sight as my eyes adjusted to the arena.

[Peeta's POV]

The arena had a surrounding forest. We were in the middle of a field, but the majority of what was around us was forest. I locked eyes with my allies. Prim was about six tributes from me, and I could see that she had t quite adjusted yet. The clock started.

_60, 59, 58, 57, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50..._

Two tributes to my right was Rue. She was looking at her district partner when I saw her but was soon looking at me.

_39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31, 30..._

She looked terrified. Not to say that I was any better. I had been shaking just moments ago. The only thing that kept me steady at this point was that I had two girls to take care of from this point on.

_ 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10..._

And then there was Katniss. God, Katniss was killing me. Just thinking about her hurt.

_5, 4, 3..._

Now or never. I looked down to see I had braced myself to run towards the forest.

2...1. The gong rang out and my feet burst into action as I ran faster than I ever had before.

**Sooo, review? Pwease? And I got a few suggestions about doing a few more Katniss scenes, so don't be shy, and if you have an opinion then let me know because I'm kind of iffy on whether or not I want to write Katniss' POV of the games. **


	10. Chapter 10

One Chance Ch 10

[PRIMS POV]

My eyes flickered all around the arena as the seconds passed by. Forest. Field. Cornucopia. Hills. No water in sight. Tributes. Peeta was six tributes from me, and Rue even further. They both knew what they were doing. They were bracing themselves to run. I still couldn't move my feet. I swear I could hear Katniss' voice in my head. "Move your feet, Prim. Do something, Prim. If you don't run, they'll get you, Prim. Damn it, move!"

5...4...3...

I managed to move in the opposite direction, facing the woods. The movement in itself was easier than the concept of moving, somehow. Movement meant I was being hunted. Being hunted meant the games had begun.

2...1...

The gong rang out.

The games having begun means that I could be dead any minute now.

I stood on the pedestal too long. Most likely because of Haymitch's warning. This was a really bad time to misjudge the length of sixty seconds.

Once my brain and body caught up to each other, I was running. All the planning I had done was forgotten, forgotten and left somewhere back on the pedestal that I was doing my best to distance myself from. I kept running. When I reached the trees, I tripped and ran into a heavy body. We stumbled backwards and both were on our feet in an instant.

She was in fact not a heavy body, but I can imagine that our speed did not do us any favors in the collision. She was the girl from one of the middle districts. Maybe five or six, I couldn't be sure just yet. We looked at each other with wild, scared eyes, wondering who would make the first move. Neither of us had weapons yet, so it would be hand-to-hand combat. I wasn't prepared for this. Her desperate eyes told me she wasn't either.

"I never saw you." I said, shaking the memory out of my head.

"Me neither." She breathed out, and we both made a run for it in opposite directions. My heart was racing. I doubt I would be that lucky with any other tribute.

I wasn't as agile as Katniss, so I was surprised when I managed to run through the woods with only two or three more falls. When I saw a tree that looked simple enough to climb, I climbed as high as I could and rested on one of the thicker limbs at the top. I hadn't noticed until then how hard I had been breathing.

[Rue's POV]

When the gong rang out, I took off. The only time I could remember ever running that fast was when my father got in trouble with the peacekeepers. I had been so scared and distracted that something would happen to him that I had left home late for the field. I ran the entire mile and a half to the field, and I was just eight years old at the time. The only reason they didn't shoot me on the spot was because they needed me so much. If only I had that luck in the arena.

As soon as I reached the trees, I climbed one. Now I was in my territory, and nobody was going to catch me now. I doubted there was anyone in this arena who was that good at tree climbing. My district partner, Thresh, although he works in the field like I do, he is too big to climb anything. He was no threat in the trees. I jumped from tree to tree like a squirrel. Tributes ran through the trees below me, but I paid no attention to them. At first. I heard voices below in the midst of jumping trees and stop to focus on them. I could distinguish the girl from five looking terrified at her opponent. They separated and ran apart.

It took me a moment to recognize the girl as my ally. I began to track her when I did. When she climbed a tree, a jumped to the tree next to hers, and then to her tree. She didn't even notice. I was better than I thought.

[Peeta's POV]

My brain registered my surroundings slowly as they changed. 

Gong. Running. Bloodbath behind me. Prim and Rue! Dammit, where are they? Gone. In the trees, hidden. Hidden from them. Good. Hidden from me. Bad. Trees surround me now. Twigs. Leaves. Moss. Dirt. Blood. Lots of blood. How many have died? Prim and Rue? Dammit, where are they? The running stopped. I listened. Screaming voices. Far away. Male voices. Not Prim. Not Rue.

[Prim's POV]

My breathing had calmed, although my heart was still racing. I had more adrenaline pumping through me than I could handle. I was getting dizzy. I closed my eyes but that made it worse. I needed something to focus on to still myself.

"Psst." My head whirled around searching for the noise.

"Psst." It was in a different area now, confusing me. My tree swayed just barely as if the wind had picked up.

"Up here!" I looked straight up to see Rue smiling. She was laying stomach down on a branch above mine.

"How did you get up there?" I whispered.

"I'm good with trees." She proved it by swinging herself off her branch with one arm and gracefully landing on the end of my branch. The tree swayed again and the leaves rustled as her feet touched the branch.

"Wow. Impressive."

"Thanks." Rue said in a small voice. "Do you know where Peeta is gonna be?"

"Nope. I suppose we should have planned a meeting place or something."

"It's not like we knew what the arena would be like anyway. We should just be happy we have trees. I feel safer when I have trees around me." Rue gripped the tree branch and set herself down in a sitting position.

"So...now what?" I asked.

"Now we wait. Peeta's coming right?"

"Yes. I'm sure he is. He wouldn't leave us, trust me." I'm playing the brother-sister bond, but I know Peeta enough to know that this is one hundred percent true.

[Peeta's POV]

My breathing was rapid. How could it not be? I was running for my life now. In all the time that I had spent training, I had thought of Prim, and Prim's life. But now, running through the woods, I unexpectedly found myself being utterly terrified for my own life. It was selfish, and I needed to snap out of it.

I had no chance of finding Prim or Rue right now. They were probably already together because they are obviously a lot smarter than I am. I've seen Rue in the training center. She's a born climber, which means they are probably in a tree. My eyes flit upwards, looking through the trees for figures.

Not a good idea.

I was flat on my face before I could register what had happened. A sharp pain ran through my leg as it landed on a particularly sharp fallen branch. My hands reached my leg and I held it, as if that would do anything. I had to move, I knew I had to move, but how could I?

I grabbed at the rocks on the ground for support, but they slipped and scattered around me before I could put all of my weight on them, causing myself to fall back down again. This time, I reached for the tree for support and managed to stand for a moment. Leaning against the tree, I took a deep breath and began to walk. I hugged the trees now for support, but I could feel all hope disappearing from me as I began to realize the situation I was in.

I had an injured leg, meaning I couldn't run. Prim and Rue could have been anywhere in this arena, up in a tree that I had no hope of climbing with my hurt leg, and if any tribute showed up right now, I would have no defense.

And now I was having a panic attack. Eagerly limping in fear now, I could hear my pathetic whimpering. I couldn't imagine what Katniss was thinking now. This pathetic boy was supposed to be her sister's protector? I shook my head in an apology that I hoped she received.

A sharp pain sprung out on my forehead and I looked down at my feet. It was a branch from a tree, and I doubt it was a coincidence. Someone had thrown this at me. Someone was nearby.

I felt a rock hit my back and my head whirled around the forest ceiling. This was where I was going to die. They were mocking me. Probably the careers.

"Psst! Peeta!" Prim's soft voice pulled my gaze to one of the higher branches of the tree. Next to her sat Rue, who was swinging her feet cheerfully.

"Prim!" I whispered. "Prim, oh thank God..."

"Get up here." She motioned to the tree, but I shook my head.

"I hurt my leg. I can't climb." Prim and Rue both moved at the same time, moving down the tree gracefully.

"Let me see. My Mom is a healer, I can help." She pushed me to sit down against the tree. I pulled up my pant leg up to the knee. "Is it permanent?"

"Doesn't look like it." She shook her head as she looked over the skin. "It's a sharp pain, isn't it?"

"Yes. What does that mean?" I shut my eyes when she pressed on a nerve.

"It'll be fine, you put too much pressure on your bone when you fell. I assume you fell, right?"

I nodded.

"It should be gone in a few hours." Her small hands massaged my leg and it began to feel better.

"Thank you. We have to move though. We need shelter."

"You can't climb right now. Can you move though? We could sleep in a bush if we can find one."

I nodded and stood up. Walking was a bit easier now, but I was relieved when we found a place where we could rest.

Rue finally spoke up, "That's good over there." She wriggled in between the bushes and I was surprised that she actually disappeared when her movement stopped. Prim followed suit, and before long we were all laying next to each other in the bushes, keeping warm with our closeness.

The cannons began to fire. Each of us counted in our head and when it was over, Prim whispered, "12."

"Yep..." I mumbled.

"Let the Games begin..." Rue whispered before turning to face me while she slept.

**Kay guys, you know the deal…reviews=OHEMGEEILUVSYOU.**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hey guys! Sorry if this chapter is kind of boring, but it was necessary…just consider it a filler/character development chapter, k? I promise the next chapter will be much much more eventful. **_

[Rue's POV]

Before we fell asleep, the dead tributes' faces flashed before us to the tune of the Capitol anthem. Both Tributes from 3, 4, 7, and 8, the boy from 5, the girl from 6, the girl from 9, and the boy from 10. And I watched each of them die in my dreams. Each death more gruesome then the last, possibly more gruesome then in reality. Then I watch my family die, followed by my allies. I wake up shaking, clinging to Peeta, a boy who I barely know but has instantly become my safety zone. He is still asleep, along with Prim, although look pained, even in their sleep.

The arena is deceiving. There are flowers scattered across the plants around us, a soft breeze flowing through the trees and among us, and birds chirping a cheerful tune above us. Mockingjays. I whistle a soft tune and they begin copying it amongst themselves. This was a game I used to play back home. A more melodic version of President says. When my lips get tired, I begin to hum, which turns into singing.

I think at one point my singing wakes Peeta, but he swears it wasn't me and urges me to continue. He says it reminds him of someone he knows in District 12. He smiles fondly at the memory, so I continue to sing to keep him happy. When Prim wakes up, she joins my singing and we sit peacefully, the three of us. It almost feels like we are no longer in the games, but three friends in the bushes, relaxing. When we hear rushed footsteps, we instantly quiet. The girl I had seen with Prim yesterday runs past us in a rush, and I can feel Peeta tense up. He is not afraid of the girl, but of who she was running from. Our breaths are all held in silence until we relax. The predator has given up.

"We have to move." Peeta stands and when we emerge from the bushes, scratches coat our arms and neck from the twigs and branches. No one mentions it. Prim and I look at Peeta expectantly.

"What?" He looks at us in the same way.

"Well…what do we do?" Prim asks. "You're kind of in charge…"

"What, me?" His eyebrows raise in surprise. "O-okay." He looked thoughtful for a second. "Water. We need water. Haymitch said uh… high ground. Rue," He pointed at me, "How high can you climb?"

Since I didn't have an exact measurement, I hopped up onto a thin branch on the nearest tree and began to climb. When I reached the highest branch that was safe to climb I shouted down, "This high enough?"

Prim put her finger to her lips to tell me to be quiet. I shut my eyes in regret. Anybody could've heard that. Peeta made a motion with his hands to look around for water. Moving my head from side to side, all I saw was forest. Except for behind me. When I changed positions to look behind me, I could see a large gap in the blanket of trees. I pointed in that direction for Peeta to see and climbed back down.

"I couldn't see water, but that's the biggest gap I can find. It's our best chance." Peeta nodded at the information and began hiking in that direction. I began climbing the trees again before Prim's voice stopped me.

"What are you doing?"

"I move faster in the trees." I said with a small smile. I began my drifting once again, jumping from tree to tree the way I used to at home. The memories returned all at once, the way they usually did. I remembered my friends and I in district 11, always playing "Catch Me If You Can" in between shifts. I remembered how we would eat lunch together on the highest branches of the tallest trees we could find. It was our way of getting away. Sometimes, when we would climb the tallest trees, when we would sing with the birds, when everyone below us shrunk to the size of ants, sometimes it would feel like we were no longer in District 11, no longer in Panem, but in a completely separate place. Those were my favorite memories.

My mind is pulled back harshly to the games when I run out of trees. I was right about the gap in the trees. Before me is a beautiful lake that brings thirst to the forefront of my mind. I hop down to the dirt below me and wait for Prim and Peeta, who show up moments later. They looked surprised that I had beat them, just as my friends would when we would race. I smile at them in the same playful manner that I do in my memories. It lasts another few seconds, and once again, I feel like we are all just a group of friends, and not allies in a fight to the death.

Then a cannon fires. My daydream comes to an abrupt halt and we silently drink from the lake. Peeta rips the zipper compartment from his jacket to use as a container and Prim and I follow suit.

"Okay, we have water. Now we need food." Peeta said in a very direct voice. He had immediately embraced the role of "The Protector" and was doing it well. "Prim…did Katniss ever uh…teach you to… y'know?" He looks at her as if what he has said makes sense, although it really doesn't.

"Uh, no… no she never uh…we didn't think we'd ever need me to…" They know something that I don't, and obviously the Capitol doesn't either. Theres no other reason for them to speak like this.

"Okay, I just thought maybe, y'know. I guess I can't really imagine her teaching you… you're a little young for it."

"She wasn't." Prim says simply.

The two of them are silent, and we go searching for food around us. There aren't many things near us except some berries that Peeta finds. Prim finds berries as well, except they are deadly. I'd seen them before. They are called nightlock, a poisonous berry that could kill you in a minute. Our search continues.

"Hey, I found something!" Peeta comes running towards Prim and I with a green backpack in his hand. "Check it out! I think the tribute who died just now left this behind when they carried her off." He unzipped it and took out an empty water bottle, a package of nuts, a knife, a sleeping bag, some rope, and a dead squirrel.

"I doubt the gamemakers put that in there," I joke, pointing to the squirrel. Prim looks saddened by the squirrel, which is even more confusing than their earlier conversation.

"Okay," Peeta starts, "We have food and water. Plus a sleeping bag, and a weapon. This is awesome, these are good supplies. We need a good shelter now."

I looked around us and spotted one of the higher trees before pointing to it. "Can you climb today?"

"Let's do it." Peeta gives me an encouraging nod and puts the backpack on his shoulder. "Ladies first."

Prim and I climb to a fairly high branch, but Peeta can only make it so far up. We settle on a branch that is halfway up. To our right is the water, and to our left the forest.

"Now what?" Prim looks at Peeta tentatively.

"I'm not sure."

When nighttime rolls around, Peeta forces Prim and I into the sleeping bag and tells us that he is not cold. I can tell it is a lie, but I'm grateful either way.

**Soooo I saw an author do something kind of cool that I'm gonna copy now because I'm a total copy-cat. Every person who reviews, I'm going to respond to their review in the next chapter. So, questions, comments, gimme everything you got and ill respond to it :D previous reviews don't count, id rather not spend half the chapter responding to all reviews I've ever gotten.**

**And once again, Im sorry for the uneventful chapter, but it**_** was**_** necessary…I promise the next chapter will be much better. More eventful. And long, if you want it to be. Usually my chapters are around 1k words, but I'll try to go for 2k next chapter to make it up to you~**

**In case you guys were wondering, The game Rue mentioned called "President Says" is basically a post-apocalyptic version of Simon Says. The basic concept of the game would probably still exist, but the name would be different. At least that's the idea anyway, I doubt many of us here have experienced a post-apocalyptic society anyway soooo imma shut up now :P Please review...pretty pretty pleaseeeeee :) More reviews=updates come like the wind!**


	12. Chapter 12

One Chance Ch 12

Okay I promised that I would respond to every review for that chapter so I will, here you go:

**Team Peeta**: I actually am planning on doing something like that, it will be a little different than what you suggested but there will definitely be a conversation about Katniss during the games. We can't exactly leave Peeta with any dignity left, now can we? XD

**.:**  
>And I love YOU. Because you reviewed and that makes me happy XD<p>

**Perspicacious Loris**: As you can see I have updated fast :D yay! and you my friend, have a very difficult username. I think that is the first, last, and only time I will ever spell perspicacious correctly XD

**CarlyHutcherson27**: Hmm, I definitely like the idea of Prim having a nightmare in which Peeta comforts her from. I think I actually will work that into the story, but I already had sorta ish plans for the Katniss conversation. Who knows though, nothing is set in stone!

**solemnly-up-to-no-good**: I hope I got your username right, but anyhoo, thank you so much for reviewing and yes the Prim Rue Peeta alliance will definitely give us cavities. I have a feeling I'm going to cry writing the part where uh -cough- stuff -cough- happens to a certain someone -coughRUEcough-

**willoffire 123**: No you are definitely not the only one who wants me to continue but it makes my day every time someone tells me that they are looking forward to it! Thanks so much :D

[Peeta's POV]

A loud snore rips through the air the way it does when the world is quiet. My eyes open and close a few times as I capture my surroundings. Tree. Sleeping. Prim. Rue. Arena. I sit up from my uncomfortable sleeping position against the tree trunk, trying not to jostle Prim and Rue, who are both locked in a tight embrace within the sleeping bag lying on top of me. We are tied together by the rope we are using to belt us to the tree.

Another snore brings my mind into hyper mode. If I can hear it, so can enemies. I shake Prim and Rue awake and they both have bags under their eyes. I feel immensely guilty for waking them but am at least relieved that we are less traceable without the loud snoring. Or so I thought. I hear the sound of somebody's obnoxious snore again and look between Prim and Rue, who are both wide awake now. I lean my head carefully over the side of the thick tree branch and whip it back up as soon as my suspicions are confirmed.

"Shit!" The word comes out of my mouth in a fearful whisper before I can regret it.

Prim and Rue follow suit and look below us. Prim's eyes widen in fear and Rue looks at me with her mouth open slightly.

"Don't. Make. A sound." I whisper just barely. They nod in return and I look back down again for a closer look. Four bodies lay beneath us lazily. I recognize them instantly. Careers. The large boy from 2, and his partner Clove, the intimidating girl from 1, Glimmer was her name, and her district partner Marvel. Marvel was the one snoring. They all lay face down, all except Cato, the boy from 2. He sleeps peacefully looking upwards. If he opened his eyes they would meet mine and I would surely meet my death moments later.

Sitting up again, I focus on my allies. "You guys have to go." I whisper. They look confused and frightened at the same time. I point to the trees around me. Rue nods in understanding, but then shakes her head with Prim at the concept. Her eyes speak volumes in that moment, as do Prim's. They won't abandon me in this moment. Partly because I am their protector, partly because I am their ally, and partly because that isn't who they were. These girls were selfless and I wouldn't be able to convince them without an argument that would definitely bring us closer to our deaths. Whatever we did from this point on would have to be completely silent if we planned on surviving until the Careers moved camp.

"Do you think they saw us?" Prim whispers.

I shake my head. "They're careers." We all know what that means. If they had seen us, we would be dead. Although their weapons are not visible, I know they are there. Careers always dominate the Cornucopia. Every weapon there is theirs for the taking.

For the most part of the morning the Careers remain sleeping. I'm jealous of how relaxed they are. If the situation was reversed, they would easily have killed us by now. In fact, I consider it once or twice. We have a weapon, they are sleeping, and technically we have the element of surprise. But all this means nothing next to a career. Of course they wouldn't sleep with a watch person. Everyone in this arena is scared of them. Around what I can only guess to be near 10 o'clock in the morning, Cato stirs. I'm glad that I am sitting against the tree and not sneaking glances at him because he would have surely seen me. Prim and Rue have settled into their own girlish games of silently braiding each other's hair. At one point, Cato nudges the girl Glimmer awake. He says something quietly to her and she sits next to him after a few minutes. He starts a fire to cook something that they will eat for lunch and the two chat idly. The others awake soon after and go "hunting for fun" as they tell Cato. I assume this means hunting the other tributes down.

While Marvel and Clove are gone, a silver parachute begins to drift, it drifts past me and I attempt to catch it, in the hopes that it is for me. Right before my hands grasps it, the wind carries it away. It lands in between Cato and Glimmer, who stare at it for a moment before Cato rips it open. I can't tell what it is, but whatever it is Cato likes it.

"Who's do you think it is?" He asks with what sounds like a confident smirk. He probably assumes it is meant for him. I expect Glimmer to make an argument against it but she goes along with it.

"Well, I bet it's yours. After all, I can't imagine those girls in your district ignoring such a handsome tribute. In fact, I don't think any girl could resist you." My eyebrows raise instantly and Prim and Rue look as if they are trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, I bet you're right." Cato says. I sneak a peek at him and he looks pleased with the compliment.

Prim looks at me and then to Rue and says, "Is she flirting with him?"

Rue smiles a little. "It's the only weapon Cato hasn't mastered as well as she has." She jokes in a whisper.

I nudge Prim playfully. "What do you know about flirting anyway? You're too young to know stuff like that so well."

"Well, you know Katniss," She says with a mischievous smile, "Always such a flirt. I learn it from her." She giggles softly.

The thought pains me for just a second before I realize that she is joking. Of course she is joking, a flirt is the last thing someone would call Katniss.

"Oh yeah, and who would you be flirting with?" Rue pipes in.

Prim smiles again. "Who knows? Maybe I have a whole slew of boys back in District 12 that I flirt with."

"Nope, Katniss would never allow it." I add. We are all laughing softly now and I have to put a finger to my lips to silence them.

"Well maybe you don't know Katniss that well," She fires back. I shake my head, which means something different for everyone. For Prim, it is a subtle reaction to her joking, for the Capitol it is a gesture saying that I wish I knew her more than I did, and for me it is my way of telling her that I in fact had been keeping tabs on her sister for eleven years now and probably knew her about as well as I could for someone who had never directly spoken to her.

We fall back into a comfortable silence. As comfortable a silence as you can have when you know that any noise you make will surely guarantee your death.

Marvel and Clove come back a few hours later, laughing and joking.

"Dude, you shoulda been there!" Marvel is laughing so hard I can barely understand what he is saying. "She was all 'you wanna make an _alliaaaaaance_?' It was awesome! Like I, I literally had my spear held up," He makes a motion in the air to show it, "And I'm about to gut her," He jerks his hand forward and back in a stabbing motion, "And she asks for an alliance! Hilarious, I thought Clove would die laughing, seriously!" All four of them laugh at the thought while my stomach turns. Prim and Rue have similar expressions on their faces.

"And then the other guy, that was just pathetic. He, he goes runnin' from us and about ten seconds into the chase, falls on his face, right there! Too easy, man." All conversations seem to point to Cato. He is obviously the leader of the group.

"I hope we can get some fun ones." Cato says to Glimmer. He turns back to Marvel. "What do you say we make it a competition, eh?" Whoever kills more tributes by the day after tomorrow gets first pick when we have to split. We'll pair up." Marvel and Clove look at each other and nod.

"It's on."

"Alright, might as well have some fun here, right?" Cato and Glimmer are no longer in my view now that they are directly under the tree. "Let's start over though, today doesn't count."

"Why not?" Clove retorts sharply.

"Because we weren't both hunting." Cato stands up in an intimidating stance. "It starts tomorrow, got it?" The way he states it makes it obvious that nobody is going to say otherwise. For the rest of the night, Rue, Prim and I eat a few of the nuts in our bag. The smell of them claws away at my stomach as it fills the air around us. I haven't been this hungry in years. In fact, I don't think I ever even noticed that nuts had such an appetizing smell.

When the sky darkens, the anthem is played, accompanied by the deaths of the day shown in the sky. The girl from 10, and the boy from 9. I urge Prim and Rue to go to sleep again, and they crawl back into the sleeping bag as silently as possible. I take one last glance down to where the Careers are talking and laughing together. It didn't look like they were moving camp. And if they didn't by tomorrow, I would force Prim and Rue to leave while I distracted them from the ground level.

-

A piercing scream wakes me up with a shock. Prim is holding a shaking, sobbing Rue as she screams. My heart is racing. Surely they heard us from below. I attempt to shush Rue, but she is too far gone in a nightmare to know that she is giving our hiding place away. By the time she calms down and is sobbing in my arms, I hear shouts from below.

"Well looky here!" Cato says cheerfully as he grabs his sword. "Looks like we got some sneaky ones up there!" He looks up, directly in my eyes. "That you, 12?" He looks more excited by the second. Marvel has joined him now with his spear.

"Oh this is gonna be good!" Marvel laughs.

Prim and Rue were both looking up at me with fearful eyes. I was about to fail Katniss, and I knew it. The tributes below us were all looking up and joking about who and how they would kill us.

"Ooh, I call the little one," Clove cooed.

"Which one?"

"The little blonde one." Prim's grip around me tightened and I could feel my face redden with anger. Glimmer pulled out her arrows and began to shoot at us. I pulled Rue and Prim closer to shield them. I heard each arrow whiz past us until she gives up.

Glimmer is nowhere near as good as Katniss when it comes to archery. I remember how when she would trade with my father for rolls, he would always comment on her shooting. Always in the eye, he would say. And I'd seen it too. She is the best shot in District 12, for sure. Glimmer however, is not so talented. Her arrows fly past us into the trees, all except two, both of which stick in the branch above us. They are just within reach, which would be convenient if I had a bow.

Cato is fuming now. "How could you miss twelve times?"

"It's not that easy!"

"Whatever. I'll kill them myself." He mutters before gripping one of the tree branches with his sword in hand. Halfway through climbing, the branch he leaned his weight on snapped sharply and he tumbled back to the ground. Profanities spilled from his mouth as he stood up. The others all attempted to do so as well, but none of them had the training or size to scale a tree with one hand.

I let out a sigh of relief when Marvel gave up and sat down. "They can't stay up there forever, let them starve, I don't give a shit anymore." He threw his spear down in frustration. Glimmer and Clove agreed and joined him, but Cato didn't sit. He stood, still glaring at me. I could help but look back. The phrase "If looks could kill" was the only thought I could coherently think at the moment. When he sat down with the others finally, I looked back at Prim and Rue.

"Are you guys okay?" The both gave me frightened nods. "You have to go. Through the trees I mean. I can't move like you, Rue, but Prim might be able to."

"But what about you?" Prim's voice cracked in the middle of her sentence.

"Don't worry about me, go. Please, you have to do this."

"No, there has to be another way..." Prim said in a desperate tone. Rue was looking around now, looking for anything that could help. I saw her eyes widen and she bit her lip as she looked back at me.

I raised my eyebrows in a silent question.

She pointed upwards to something above us in the branches. It was difficult to see in the darkness at first.

"A-are those wasps?" Prim asked softly.

Looking closer, I shook my head. I knew exactly what they were. Tracker Jackers. I had seen them before in a previous hunger games. A tribute had gone crazy with hunger once and decided that the Tracker Jacker nest was a good source of food. He was essentially stung to the death.

"Now you have to go!" I said forcefully. If they got stung by a tracker jacker, they would be easy targets. Too easy.

Rue shook her head and reached up to grab the arrows that Glimmer had stuck into the tree. I look down at the Careers below us, who have seemingly forgotten about us and are chatting. Rue makes a motion with her hands of throwing the arrow like a spear. She points to the nest again and I get it. I nod. She's right, it's the only option we have.

"Go. I'll do it, but you have to go." The two of them climb out of the sleeping bag and grab the backpack. I am still tied in to the tree, but I untie the rope quickly and shove it into the pack. Rue quickly jumps from this tree to that like a pro, and Prim follows shakily. At one point, Prim falls but manages to land on the branch below. When they think they are far enough, I gesture for them to go farther and they do.

Carefully placing my feet below me, I stand to my feet, gripping the tree trunk with both hands, the arrows in my left hand. I step softly onto the branch below me and glance at Cato and the others. They haven't noticed our movement yet. When I am low enough that I can jump without hurting myself, I place my feet where they need to be for a jump and grasp the first arrow in my hand.

I focus on the nest above me and throw the arrow the way I learned to throw a spear in the training center. I use too much force on the throw and I watch the arrow just miss the nest and tumble back to the ground.

My heart is racing now as I look down at the Careers. Nobody has noticed a change. The arrow fell softly onto the leaves, unnoticed. A take a deep breath and wipe the sweat off of my throwing hand. I take the last arrow into it now and reposition my feet. It's now or never.

I imagine what Katniss might say if she were training me to do this. While she may have never had to physically throw an arrow in her life, this is a game I like to play when I have to do something particularly difficult. I imagine her telling me how to hold it like a spear, but to throw it like a dart. I don't even know where this information comes from. Apparently my imagination is more skilled than I am. Grasping the tree trunk, I once again zero in on the tracker jacker nest as I pull my hand back.

When I let it go, it flies in a straight line, piercing the heart of the nest. For a split second, the nest does not move, and I am afraid that it has done nothing. But it does do something. The nest is swinging back and forth now, until it breaks loose from the branch and comes tumbling down. 

I jump from the tree and land less gracefully than I could have hoped, but I am running as fast as possible in an instant.

Behind me, I hear the crunching of a nest exploding, and the buzz of hundreds if not thousands of the demonic insects wreaking havoc.  
><strong><br>**** CLIFFHANGER 8D HOLYMOTHEROF- that was so much fun to write, I'm telling you! You should try it sometime XD not to mention that I wrote that last bit with the tracker Jackers to the French song from the target commercial where colorful people jump out of hot air balloons and make life more colorful XD Since I love this chapter so much, I'm gonna do the same thing that I did with the last chapter, which is respond to ALL THE REVIEWS :D Such happiness here on my part, I hope it's the same for you, leave a review and let me know please! Also let me know if you prefer the longer chapters, cuz it was kind of fun to write one!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to all my reviewers! :D**

**NRG99**: Almost speechless but not quite? Not sure if that's a compliment or not but nevertheless thank you for reading the story!

**willoffire 123**: Yes I am mean, but I promise I won't do it too much, but I ha to split up this chapter into a whole bunch because it was about 6000 words long. I guess when I sat down to write it, it just had a mind of its own

**SUGARBABE98**: :) right back at ya

**.**: ikr? Peeta's always been amazing :)

**solemnly-up-to-no-good**: I'm so glad you like it! I didn't think people would like that much but it turns out they do :D thanks so much for reading!

**BookGurl 16**: Yeah everyone seems to be loving Peeta so far, I'm glad I've been able to write it so, but I guess he is just all too lovable to not be loved

**Perspicacious Loris**: (I DID THAT WITHOUT DOUBLE CHECKING THE SPELLINGGGGG :D) Yay quick updates make me happy too! I really can't help but update fast cuz I'm kind of a slave to good reviews :)

**The Queens Fabler**: Well it's good to know people want to read this story! And yes I like the role that Peeta has taken. I wanted him to be more of a protector in this than in the books because he wasn't weak in the books, just injured. Soooo while he's not inured he can be the strong one :)

**Sianatra**: Now listen carefully cuz this is important XD Here's a little practice test for you~ go play hide and seek with one of our vocab words :P would be so proud

**torigrace**: im so gald you think this is really a good story :D

**Aaaaand now for the story :D**

[Rue's POV]

The taste of animal meat lingered on my tongue as I gnawed on a remaining bone. I pulled as much juice from it that I could, as it was the last food we had left. After three days of looking after Peeta in the state he was in, we had depleted our supply to a container of water. I watched Prim remove the leaves from Peeta's neck, arms, and chest, where he had been stung. Prim had one sting on the back of her neck, and I was the only one who managed to avoid being stung. Prim would have done so too, had she not lingered behind, trying to watch what Peeta was doing.

I remember how he had run toward us, swatting the Tracker Jackers away as he screamed. Then the hallucinations had come, just before he blacked out. He had been screaming about something to do with his mother. I have only ever seen what tracker Jackers do once before when my father had gotten stung. He told me that the hallucinations took what you loved and twisted it into the most painful experience possible. I pitied his mother, and how it must break her heart seeing that his last moment with her was in a cruel nightmare.

Thinking of Peeta, I imagine that he must have had a good family, with caring parents. He was so sweet and protective of Prim and I, even though he had known me for just two weeks.

Prim sat down on the log we had been sharing. We no longer slept in the trees. I knew that Tracker Jackers were nomadic insects. They could build a nest in under an hour, so once one was destroyed, which it often was by weather or any other method, they would rebuild in another tree. The careers had no such experience with Tracker Jackers. Nobody had returned to the tree we had run from.

"He should wake up soon. The swelling has gone down, so it's almost completely through his system. Plus he's starting to wake up." She motioned by tilting her chin towards him and I watched the sleeping boy twitch in a restless manner. He was muttering softly and his eyebrows were furrowed in distress.

"What's he saying?" Prim smiled at my question. "What?"

"I think he'd rather I not say." She is still smirking, and I start to smile too because her smile is contagious.

"Fine, I'll just have to ask him when he wakes up." We fall into a comfortable silence that is broken once again by Prim.

"What's District Eleven like?" She asks. Her head is tilted sideways in curiosity.

"Strict." I say simply. "Lots of trees. We are agriculture after all."

"Are you from the seam?"

"What's the seam?"

"It's what we call the poor part of town in District 12."

"Oh, yeah I guess I am. We don't call it the seam, though. It's called the straights. Same concept though."

"Ah. What does your family do?"

"We work in the fields. I work high up in the trees. My dad works with the machinery for the farm. My mother stays home unless one of us is too sick or injured to work. Then she'll take our place. My brother is..." I paused as I was reminded of what my brother was. "Well he doesn't have a job anymore. He isn't anything."

"Why did they fire him?" The naive words stung.

"They didn't. He uh..." I wasn't sure if this would hurt my family at home. Although they most likely were not showing it. I decided it was worth it. I needed to talk about it, and my conversations with Prim were comforting. She healed minds just as easily as bodies. "They killed him."

Prim's eyes widen at the information. "Wh-why?"

"Last winter they rationed our food in eleven. Every time someone commits a crime, they punish the rest of us, and that's what they did last winter. We didn't have enough food, and I couldn't work overtime yet. Too young. I had a couple months until I was old enough. We were starving, I mean we didn't have any food at all. It had been a week since I had eaten at the time. I didn't think we would have made it. We had a week and a half until we got our monthly rations again. And Devon...that was his name...he had this friend who was a merchant. He knew how to get into his basement, and they had some extra food there. They caught him though, and killed him on the spot." The tears began to spill over my eyelids. "They taped it too...they said he would be the e-example, for anyone else who decided th-that they wanted more food. They played the tape in the square the next day, a-and the day after that. And the worst thing is that, it might even be what he what he wanted. Whenever someone in your family dies, you get extra rations for mourning. I-I think that's what he was d-doing…"

Prim's arms wrapped around my shaking figure. I could see that she was on the verge of tears as well, but holding her own well enough. I let out the tears that I had been holding in for months while I pretended to be strong for my friends and family. The tears that I had been tempted to cry while I worked fifteen hour shifts in the fields every day after I turned twelve, the tears that I had resisted on the train to the capitol, knowing that they could starve without my hours. Sobs racked my body consistently.

"I'm sorry." Prim repeated over and over as she rubbed my arms softly.

When she pulled away, she kneeled next to Peeta. "You remember how I told you that he saved us?" She asks.

I nod. While it may be fuzzy, I still remember our first conversation.

"We had been starving too. And Peeta gave Katniss bread. Even when he wasn't supposed to. I can't imagine where I would be if they had..." She takes a deep breath to steady herself. When she looks at me, she offers a small smile. "You're a lot stronger than I am, you know?"

"Someone has to be strong." I say with a shrug.

"You and my sister would have gotten along." Prim adds. "You guys would have been a good team."

"I think we're a pretty good team too, you, Peeta, and I."

"Katniss would have been a better ally though."

Before I can respond, Peeta twitches in his sleep. "Katniss..." he mumbles in a fearful voice. His facial expression projects true fear.

"Is he waking up?" Prim puts her hand on his forehead while we watch him. Our eyes should be boring holes into his head with the strength of our gaze. I feel myself willing him to wake up, hoping, and needing him to wake up. We had become all too dependent on him all too quick. It was a dangerous concept in these games.

"Apparently not." Prim sighed in frustration and we sat back down on the log, picking at the animal bones and watching Peeta breathe in and out.

"That was weird. So is Peeta close with your sister Katniss too?"

"Heh. No." Prim actually smiles again, which is surprising after our conversation.

"Then I guess he heard us talking. That's weird. I don't know why he didn't wake up..." I pause nervously. "You do think he's going to wake up, right?"

"He'll wake up." Prim says reassuringly.

-

[District 11]

A dark man pushes a wheelbarrow along the grassy pathway among trees. He struggles as his efforts increase with every breath. Glancing up at the projected screen, his strength increases once more as he attempts to distract himself from the scene before him.

A smaller, leaner man comes into view as he looks around before whispering to the man.

"I hear that's your little girl." He nods to the screen and offers his hand in sympathy. The dark man takes it in his hand gruffly and begins pushing the cart again before the man has another chance to speak.

The lean man starts walking fast to keep up again. "Wait, this is the only safe place to talk."

"Who says I want to talk." He states, not asks.

"Just...hear me out."

The dark man faces the lean one and crosses his arms in an intimidating "Make it quick" gesture.

"There's been some talk. Among us...in the field..." He lingers on the phrase, not wanting to give more information. "Talk...against them." He puts the inflection on the word 'them'. "You're not the only one who they took from. We just thought you might want to know...we've been talking about acting out. If you were interested, you could join us. Then make your own opinion. "

"Acting out against what?"

"The games. The peacekeepers. The Capitol."

"What kind of idiot are you?" The dark man cut off the lean man. "Haven't they done enough to us? You're gonna get yourself killed, along with your whole god damn family!"

"Wha-?"

"Yeah, that's right. And you know it. We've all seen what they can do. And what do you think you're going to do? Start a fucking rebellion?"

"As a matter o-"

"No! You're not!"

"Look, I was just trying to help. I thought you'd want to, but I guess not. Whatever."

"You're not helping anyone." He says in a dark tone.

"How about the future generations that have to put up with the Capitol?" The lean man is angry now.

"We. Have. No. Power. Don't you get it?"

"Well it's worth a shot. Because honestly ... You and me. We're not that different. They took my little girl three years ago. They killed my wife in a fire. We all know about your son now." He pointed to the screen that projected the two little girls sitting on a log. "And they took your girl too. You and I. What do we have to lose?"

The dark man had no words anymore.

"If you change your mind. You can find us."

"How do I know who 'us' is?"

The lean man pointed to his arm. The sleeves on his shirt were folded in. "We roll our sleeves into our shirts. Subtle, right?"

The dark man just nods. He looks the man up and down once more before picking up the wheelbarrow again. This time, the lean man does not follow him.

[The Capitol]

A man with a meticulously shaven beard leaned forward against the cool stone of the railing on the roof. He had piercing blue eyes that gazed off at nothing, wandering in thought. His tie and jacket lay smooth against his lean chest in an appropriate manner; both were of a maroon color. He pressed his hair down in case any strands had gone loose, which was nearly impossible with the amount of gel he used slicking it back. It had to look one hundred percent perfect one percent of the time.

Another man approached him from behind. His hair hung straight down around his face, perhaps only an inch past a normal man's hair length in the Capitol. His eyes were also piercing, but softer.

"Seneca Crane." The shaven man stated in a calm voice.

The man in the beard whipped around to greet him. "...Demetri Marcade. W-wow. It's an honor to meet you." He said shakily. They shook hands and stepped back in an awkward manner.

Realization crosses the bearded man's face. "You left me this?" He holds up a small, square piece of paper with a strip of sticky substance along the back. "I would have thought someone of your-"

"Well its best if my efforts fly under the radar, you know? I thought it best to go low tech on this."

"Why?"

"That's not important." He shook off the subject and began to pace back and forth.

"Well, either way. It's an _honor_ to meet you, Mr. Marcade. You're a legend."

"Am I? Interesting."

"Well, of course you are. You were Head Gamemaker for eight years. That's the longest anyone has done it. Plus, you're the only other living Gamemaker besides me. You had so many successful games, it's just-"

The bearded man was cut off by a raise of the shaven man's hand. "Okay I'm going to make this quick." When the man leaned in close in curiosity, he whispered. "Be careful."

"W-with what?" The naïveté was evident on the man names Seneca's face.

"These games."

"I…I'm sorry?"

" Why do you think I _retired_, Seneca?" He emphasized the word 'retired' by using air quotations.

"I…I don't…"

"You'll understand it soon. You don't yet, but you will. Being a Gamemaker isn't safe."

"What are you talking about? Being Gamemaker is an amazing opportunity."

"No." The man named Marcade shook his head. "These games are already getting out of hand. They were getting out of hand when I was Gamemaker, and now they're nothing short of uncontrollable."

"I can handle it."

"So far. But that won't last. It isn't just the tributes, although this year, those aren't helping you either." He pointed to the projected screen above them where two twelve year old girls lay huddled against the base of a tree, holding each other in their sleep. "But in general, you have bigger problems than that. The districts. The people."

"Mr. Marcade..."

"These games will. Not. End. Well. Mark my words, Seneca. Quite frankly, you're screwed."

"I think that's a little unnecessary!" Seneca was a proper adult in his mind, and such language was uncalled for.

"You'll get it. Give it time. You'll get it."

"Get what? What will I get?"

"Every time these games kill twenty-three innocent, yes, innocent children, it fuels the fire of the rebels. And if somehow, they don't die, then they win, because they changed the Capitol. Either way you lose, either way they win."

"Agree to disagree."

"I wish you wouldn't."

**What time is it? REVIEW TIME. Sorry, Adventure Time fans XD Lemme know what you think, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask because I love questions. This chapter may have been a little confusing for you guys, but if it helps it makes **_**perfect **_**sense in my head. XD of course that doesn't help in the slightest because Im just a stranger on the internet. Nevermind.**

t." 


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay I am soooo sorry for all this chapter 14 confusion. There was something wrong with the site, I assume? Anyway, half of you could view ch14, half of you couldn't, it was all very upsetting XD but its here now, and lets hope everyone can read it now!**

**Thank you so much to all my reviews and favoritestoryalertplusers (that's totally a word) I love you, and im sorry this chapter is a wittle late. By like a lot. **

I am running through a forest blindly. My legs feel like lead. I can't tell if I am running to or from something. My breathing is fast, and I don't look back. When I reach a clearing, I notice someone running in front of me. I have to catch up to them. I don't know why. The person stops and I see the innocent face ahead of me, struck by fear. Long blonde hair, split into two braids, and soft blue eyes look up at me in terror.

I have to kill it. It's not safe. I have to kill it.

The knife I did not know I was holding rises in a shaky hold. I bring it down again, once, twice, three times, in a stabbing motion. The creature stops its moving but I keep stabbing.

It is dangerous. It must be killed.

When I fall to my knees next to the still body, I begin to cry. I don't know why I killed it, who I killed it for, or who knew I killed it. It was dangerous. It needed to be killed. I stood again, looking behind me now to spot any other dangers. I was alone.

My gaze returned to the still body. My heart skipped a beat. It was not in fact the same body as before. It was different. The body was larger, with long brown hair in one braid now, to the side. Her large gray eyes looked to the sky, yet not seeing anything. The three chest wounds mocked me. I had done this. I had taken her life. Her name echoed around the clearing, repeated in fear, in joy, in despair, it echoed with a vengeance.

Katniss.

Katniss.

Katniss. 

[Peeta's POV]

My eyes flew open at a burst of musical sound. An entire orchestra blared the national anthem as my heart attempted to return to its normal rate of beating.

"Peeta!" Prim stood from a log across from me and through her arms around me.

"Prim..." I hugged her back. I was not going to kill her, that man could not have been me.

"Peeta, you've been sleeping for days!" She whispered. "How do you feel?"

"I'm...I'm okay. I think. Days?"

"Five." She nodded. Rue kneeled next to us and smiled at me.

"How did you guys..."

"Rue collected food for us. And nobody will come back here anyway."

"Why?"

Rue answered this time. "This is the tree where you dropped the Tracker Jackers."

My eyes widened and I looked above me. "Are there any here?"

"No, silly. Tracker Jackers are nomadic insects. I learned about them back in Eleven."

"Oh. Good. Good. Right. I knew that." We looked to the sky as the death toll began to scroll through that day's death. The boy from Eleven's picture lit up the night sky.

Prim looked upset. "Oh Rue, I'm sorry. Did you know him at all?"

"Not really. We'd talked on the train but nothing past that. I just know how much his family must be hurting now without him."

Prim seemed to understand what she meant, and I nodded awkwardly.

"We should sleep." I say. "I'll keep watch, you two need sleep." They agree and curl up next to me against the tree.

[Rue's POV]

I wake up to a soft ringing sound coming from the trees. It is nothing like the mockingjays I am used to hearing in the forest, it is more metallic. Less sing songy. Looking at Prim and Peeta, I can see that they are looking around for the source of the sound. Prim's eyes zero in on something in the trees and I follow her gaze to find a small silver parachute, hanging delicately on the end of a tree branch about 15 feet high on a tree in the middle of the forest that lays ahead of us.

Peeta suddenly smiles a deliriously happy smile. "We have sponsors! That's, that's from a sponsor! That could be anything!"

I stand up and start making my way towards the tree. When I reach it, I climb it's limbs gingerly until I reach the parachute.

"What's in it?" Peeta shouts up.

"I haven't opened it yet!"

As I make my way back down the tree, another voice stops me in my tracks.

"Hey little girl, you wanna gimme that pretty little package?" A male's voice echoes in the trees. I glance down and see the familiar blonde hair of Cato. I can hear Peeta yelling at Prim to run.

I panic and clutch at the tree trunk. Prim is backing away slowly while Peeta scrambles for a weapon of some type. I wonder for a split second whether he is afraid for my life or his own. I cut off the thought at the root immediately. There is no point in getting my hopes up.

"Rue! Run!" I can hear Prim scream. It takes me a moment before I see what she means. I can still make my escape through the trees, and hope to outrun Cato.

When I begins to move through the trees, I can tell he is impressed because the mocking calls from below stop. He concentrates only on keeping up with me, which he does with more ease than I had hoped.

My heart begins to race when a rock whizzes past my head. Then another. Then another.

"Get down here, little birdie!" The rocks keep coming and moving is becoming more difficult.

I lose my balance when the last rock is thrown, and fall back to the ground in a chaotic tumble.

"There we go. That's better." Cato rests his boot on my chest and smirks down at me. "You know-" His voice is cut off with an "umph!" as I watch Peeta tackle him. The boys wrestle about five feet from me as I scramble to my feet. It may be selfish, but all I can do is run. Peeta has given me a head start and I am going to take it. Running through the trees, leaves whipping at my face, I duck around intricate trails with no particular rhyme or reason.

"I'm still comin' for you, Eleven!" I hear Cato running after me, boring through the branches in his way. "Sorry to get your hopes up, little birdie, but bread boy ain't that strong!" He jeered.

We reach a clearing now, the same one we found about a week ago in our search for water. I can hear Peeta and Prim screaming my name. Why are they screaming? I turn around just in time to see Cato's knife hurling itself at me.

[Peeta's POV]

My head whips back and forth between two of my worst nightmares.

In the middle of the soft, grassy field, Prim holds Rue's as they both sob into each other's arms, whispered words escaping them both in a desperate back and forth manner. The clutches her stomach where she had pulled out the sharp intruder. Cato's knife lays on the ground next to her, bloodied, and mocking me. I had done this. I had let this happen.

And with one foot in the clearing, and one foot in the forest, Cato's jeering smile grows as he watches the scene before him with eager eyes. My anger flares at the sight of his sick satisfaction.

"What's wrong bread boy?" He says in the stereotypical voice of a bully. "Did ya think you'd get through these games without a little bit o' violence? Think about it. You gotta do some killing to get through these games. Oh wait! You're not going to get through these games. I forgot. You know why you're not gonna make it? 'Cause I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna kill you and I'm gonna make the little blonde one watch, and then I'm gonna kill _her_."

It isn't the brightest idea, but I'm not entirely in control of my actions by this point. I surge forward and tackle the District 2 tribute once again. Managing to catch him by surprise gives me a momentary advantage. This may cost me my life, but there is nothing I can do at the moment put continue to pummel and kick the sick bastard who had just killed my ally. Cato has me on my back in no time, returning the abuse. While I have been wrestling my brothers since I could walk, Cato has been training in an academy that specializes in hand to hand combat since he could walk.

Unless I can get my hands on a weapon, this is how I will die.

And I am sure that I _am_ going to die when Cato pulls a knife from his belt.

"You think you can take me bread boy?" His threat is punctuated by the sound of his knife sticking into the earth next to my ear. I kick him off of me and desperately attempt to grab at his knife. Cato sends me flying with knee, smashing my face in, or at least that's how it feels.

The knife is in his possession once more, and we both stand up. I duck just in time, and the weapon flies over my head, lodging itself in the tree behind me. Once more, a momentary advantage finds me and I take it. Pulling the knife out of the tree, I hold it out in front of me towards Cato as a silent threat.

He laughs and my anger flares again. He doesn't think that I can do it. He thinks I am weak. I am not a career, so how could I possibly be a legitimate threat, right?

I silence him with a stab. It reaches the spot below his shoulder on his chest because I have never used a knife for anything more than preparing food before. The thought disturbs me as I realize that I had aimed to kill.

Cato contains his screams as he attempts to pull out the weapon. Whatever I did, I must have done it right because he cannot find the strength to do so.

I take the moment to throw a punch. I am pretty certain I've broken his nose, and blood fills his mouth.

"Fuck you." He spits out, along with more blood than I cared to see.

He is still swinging with his left arm, but I can tell that it is a struggle. He has me on the ground a moment after, kicking me, hitting me, pulling my hair.

His breathing is ragged because of the pain and I only hear it worsen when I tug the knife from his shoulder. He lets out a strangle cry from the pain, and I stab him again, this time in the stomach. It is eerily alike to Rue's position just moments ago.

My heart stops when his does. The only difference is mine comes back, beating faster than ever.

Cato lays still now, and I hear a cannon boom. My hands are covered in blood as I drop to my knees. Cato slumps at an odd angle in front of me and I mentally record his injuries.

A broken nose.

A bloodied mouth.

A stab in the stomach.

A stab in the shoulder.

A kick here.

A punch there.

Nausea overwhelms me at the realization of what I had just done. I had taken someone's life. I am throwing up what little food I had eaten lately. I had killed someone in front of everybody I have ever known. I had killed someone in front of my Dad, my brothers, my friends, Katniss...

Prim.

Oh my God, Prim.

I tried to scramble to my feet, but it only resulted in another tidal wave of vomiting. I had left Prim alone with a dying, defenseless Rue. Anybody could have come and attacked her while I was distracted. When I recover, I wipe my mouth with the front of my shirt, and stand. Running towards Rue, I can not see Prim. I begin to panic.

"Prim? Prim!" My strength is absolutely gone by the time I see Rue's peaceful face. Prim is nowhere to be found. I have lost the both of them, I'm sure of it. Did someone kill her? Have they taken her body now? But then why not take Rue's body? Unless she was a symbol. A symbol that my alliances had been killed in one swift kick. Could it be true? Could they be that cruel?

Or maybe she left on her own? She had to have seen what I had done...

Did she think that I would do that to her? Surely I made it clear. She was going to win, she had to win. Unless she was already dead. In that case, Katniss had made me promise...but I couldn't think about that. I cant go home without Prim. Which means I can't go home. I will never see my father, Theo again. I will never see the face of my best friend Robin, or the cheerful old lady who would always come in to the bakery on Tuesdays.

Or Katniss. I would never see Katniss again. But she would be happy. That's all that mattered. As long as Prim is still alive. She has to be alive. She is alive, I tell myself.

-  
><strong><br>****Kay I'm really**_** really**_** sorry about the late update, life has been hectic D: but it's here now and I'll work harder to get the next chapter up!******

**Now please review because when I get reviews asking for more chapters, I feel awful inside about not writing which either makes me write more or cry. Soooo go right ahead and ruin my day :D******

**Please please please :)**

**And you have no idea how much help it would be for you guys to give me a couple hints about where I should go with this from now on because I have a basic point a and point b that im going to accomplish but I can never decided how to connect the two…which is why I took a while to update the story. Stoopid writers block, right? Any ideas would be very helpful, and if you give me one I'll respond to it either in a PM or the next chapter. Thankyouuuuuu!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Just a little heads up, I'm gonna be a little bit of a copycat here (but aren't we all on fanfiction?) from something that happened in the movie. When I saw it, I just absolutely fell in love with the scene, and I knew I would write about it.****  
><strong>  
>A small metallic hum rang through the square, muffled by the loud noise of the speakers, projecting each and every grunt, roll, scream, cry and stab. The dark man watched the two screens, each separated by ten feet. The first screen showed a small girl with dark curls, clutching at her stomach as she cried. All the hope in the world radiated from her eyes, which were set on the sad, blue ones of the girl who gripped her nearly lifeless hand. The blue-eyed girl's lips moved in the soft whisper of a song.<p>

The opposite screen showed a brutal fight to the death. Somehow it still showed the lesser of two evils. The dark man's eyes narrowed. Two blonde boys, equal in strength yet opposite in size, attacked each other. Never before had this man found himself wanting, needing for someone to be killed as brutally as possible in the arena. The larger boy had to die. He _had _to be killed. He _deserved _to be killed.

When the District Two tribute was brought down, a feeling of justice took over the man's mind. The small boy looked sick. It wasn't even half a minute before the boy began to vomit.

He averted his eyes from the sick boy to his little girl. Tears streamed down her eyes as her skin paled.

"Rue...Rue...Rue!" The blonde girl grasped Rue's shoulders and shook. "No, Rue, you can't! You just...you can't! Rue! No! Rue, come back!" She demanded. "Stop! It's not fair!"

The remaining blonde boy, now on his knees, continued to puke at his actions.

"You have to win...one of you have to win. You can...you c-can win. P-Peeta...'s str-strong. One, one of y-you hafto...hafto...win." The words struggled to escape among the rapid breaths she took.

The man's eyes flickered back and forth between the screens, as of watching a tennis match. He watched Rue cry, he watched Peeta, the supposedly strong boy, sob and vomit, he watched the blonde girl scream in protest into Rue's chest, he watched Peeta attempt to stand up several times before actually succeeding.

His head whipped behind him at the sound of a loud laughing. Two peacekeepers, leaning against the Justice Building, whispered to each other and chuckled.

Chuckled at what, he didn't know. Chuckled at the death of the large tribute, maybe. Chuckled at the death of his little girl. A more likely scenario. Chuckled at the weakness of the boy who had just killed for the first time. Probably. Chuckled at the fact that these were just more capitol tools for their entertainment, that they would never lose someone to, that they never had to experience, or even worry about. Definitely.

The anger surged inside of him. His skin must have been red-hot from all of the control he had to muster to keep from killing the Peacekeepers in the same way the Peeta had just killed. He would not regret it. Across the square from him stood the lean man he had come to know. With his arms crossed, the blatantly obvious rolled up sleeve stood out, a sign of coded rebellion. His eyes met his and the message was clear.

What do you have to lose now?

The words danced around his head for a moment, and were amplified when the cannon boomed. She was dead. All around him, people lifted their left hands to their lips and then held out three fingers, following the shaky motion that the blonde girl was doing now.

It only took half a moment to justify his next action. Dropping his hand, he turned around and made a beeline for the Peacekeepers in white. In one swift motion, he pulled his fist back and delivered a brutal punch.

The man's head flew back, making a harsh impact with the brick wall of the building. Before his partner could protest, he was kicked in the stomach and dropped like a rock, just as the other had. Suddenly, peacekeepers were descending from every direction. Death was inevitable at this point, but justice had been served, if only by a fraction.

"Bring 'em down!" He heard a deep voice scream. More than half of the crowd began to turn away from the screen and run at the peacekeepers, who were now outnumbered.

Everything occurred in a rush. Years worth of supplies to be shipped to the Capitol were toppled, destroyed, crushed, damaged. Glass windows were shattered. Peacekeepers crippled. Rocks thrown in every direction. The view of the arena only fueled their flame further. Several hoses were turned on, flooding the square slowly. The water did nothing to cease the flames that had been set by the instantaneous rebellion.

******[PRIM'S POV]**

I awoke in a dark cave, my breaths uneven and rapid. I felt around to feel where I was, and found Peeta's leg.

"What's wrong?" I heard him say.

"What...where are we? What happened?"

Peeta chuckled lightly. "I'm not exactly sure. You scared me pretty bad though. I thought you'd left. Or worse. I found you in the little meadow past the lake. I guess you were sleeping? You had...a bundle of flowers in your hand. Almost like a bouquet. I wasn't sure what it was..."

I remembered it now. I had gone searching for flowers to put in Rue's hands before she was taken. All of the emotions had just hit me in a rush. I had dropped to the ground and cried, letting myself curl into a small ball of tears.

"...so I kept them." Peeta pulled the flowers from a backpack. They were wilted and dying by now, especially in such a dark place.

"Oh...thanks." I took them gingerly.

"What were they?"

"Oh...they were supposed to be for Rue. I-I wanted her to have them when they took her."

The regret in his eyes seemed miles wide in that moment. I felt so awful for having told him.

"Oh, Prim. I'm so sorry. God, I'm so stupid, I should have seen that. What would you need flowers for in a stupid arena?"

"It's fine, Peeta." Seeing how upset he was reminded me of how good of a person he truly was. He would have been such a good fit for Katniss, perfect in fact. I still wondered if he had told me the truth the day before the games.

"Who's left now?"

"I think it's just Marvel."

"And Cato, right?"

"No, Cato's dead."

"Marvel killed Cato?" My eyes widened. Cato was so much bigger than Marvel.

"Yeah, he...he must have." Peeta looked distracted. "I'm sorry she died. I really am, I should have taken better care of you guys, I should have protected you. I should have gone up in that tree myself, I should have just gone and gotten that parachute myself. I don't even know where it is now..."

"You couldn't stop it, one of us had to die. One of us still does."

"It's gonna be me."

"You don't know that."

"I do. God damn it, it's the only thing I know, and it's not...nevermind."

"Tell me something good." I begged. "Tell me something...happy. Talk to me about Katniss."

Peeta's eyes were questioning. "What? But she's your sister. There's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know."

"Okay..."

I gave up and leaned against him with a sigh. We were silent for a few minutes before he sighed. "Her favorite bread was the cheesy one I used to make. I can still tell, whenever you two walk by the bakery, I always see it when she looks at the bread. I can see its her favorite, to this day."

"Leave it to baker to know that." I said with a giggle.

"I may not know her as much as you know her, but I know more than you think I do." Peeta said in a soft voice.

"You love her, don't you?"

I turned around to look him in the eyes. I wanted to know the truth, it was the only way I could get through these games.

His eyes didn't lie.

"So much."

I could feel a smile growing on my face. "I'm glad."

"Why?"

"No matter which one of us dies...Katniss will always have someone to love."

"Yeah. Right." He said sarcastically.

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm a hopeless romantic, but I think you guys would be really cute."

"It doesn't matter. You're going home whether you like it or not."

"Let's not talk about the Games." I asked. "Tell me more. When did you know you loved her?"

"When I was five or six. I think. Well, I wasn't really in love then. It was just childish infatuation. I think I really fell for her sometime when we were thirteen or so. She was always beautiful to me, but I don't know...it just changed. She was a different kind of beautiful. Before then, she was the kind of beautiful that makes you want to just stare at her for the rest of your life, and then at some point, I guess things just changed. She was suddenly the kind of beautiful that gnaws at your self-control every time you see her...all I ever wanted to do was hug her, touch her hand, kiss her, hold her, I just...I loved her."

Peeta suddenly snapped out of his daze and blushed. "She probably thinks I'm a freak. Or at least a coward, which I am. Eleven years of silently keeping tabs on her, I'm practically her stalker."

"You're not a stalker." I reassured him. "I hope I'm that pretty when I turn thirteen."

"Oh you will be. You're an Everdeen. But you're not allowed to date for at least another ten or fifteen years. And you're not allowed to like boys either."

I actually found myself laughing. "Um, too late."

Peeta looked a little shocked for a moment. "Nope, you gotta wait at least ten years. Too young."

"But you're only sixteen and you already wa-"

"Wait. Who?" Peeta's mind caught up with him a little late.

"Wow, you totally don't know girls." I said teasingly.

"What do you mean?"

"The entire of Panem is watching, including _my mother_," I said in a hushed tone, "And you think I'm gonna tell you?"

"Can't you like...whisper it?"

"Nope. You don't know him anyway."

"District Twelve is pretty small."

"To you maybe, in town. But you don't know the seam kids."

"I know some seam kids." He said in a defensive tone.

"How?"

"Okay, I know _of_ some seam kids."

"Exactly."

"Ugh. Fine. You know Katniss is gonna grill you when you get back."

"If."

"_When_ you get back."

"Katniss already knows actually."

"Does she?"

"She teases me. A lot."

"I can imagine."

We laughed again, me at the memory, him at the image.

"Well don't worry; he can wait ten years, whoever it is."

**Hi there :) please review, I know this chapter took a while to get up but as some of you may know, I am now juggling two stories here, which for most of you is nothing but since One Chance was my first story, I'm having a wee bit of difficulties :/ either way, im still going to try really hard to post cuz I love each and every one of you, your reviews are very much appreciated and the best motivation ever :D**


	16. Chapter 16

[Katniss]

So much.

Those words stalked her dreams that night.

So much.

There was something so telling about those words. Proclaiming his love to the world could be shrugged off as a play. Whispering her name as he slept off the Tracker Jacker venom could be played off as a hallucination. A nightmare even. But in the darkness of the cave, with nobody else to confess to but Prim, there was something so telling about those words.

So much.

There was still doubt in her mind, and there would always be if he died in that arena. But if he came home, she had to find out.

She had managed to convince Gale, who had taken it beyond personally. He didn't understand that Peeta _had_ to lie to Prim, he didn't understand that it could be saving their lives. Only the District 12 mentor knows the truth, after all, the truth of their strategy.

Luckily, he didn't understand that it might not be a lie.

She had already been interviewed twice, once when she was tending to Lady, where she discussed Prim, and once when they found her in the Hob. In that second interview, they had removed her from the Hob, and staged her in town. She had played the part of a grieving lover, as if she had loved Peeta back all along. Both times she had spoken, she had spoken for Peeta and Prim's lives.

Tomorrow would bring another interview, she was sure. An emotional scene such as what Peeta had brought on in the cave could not go unfinished. All loose ends had to be tied up in a Capitol bow, which meant getting her thoughts.

She'd love to know what her thoughts were too.

When the morning came, her mother silently dressed up her hair. No words were exchanged, but both of them knew the purpose of it. A half hour after Katniss sat down in an unmoving position so that her only dress would not wrinkle, and her hair would not come undone. A loud knock interrupted the silence. Just one knock. Two peacekeepers stood outside her door.

"Ms. Everdeen, it you'll come with us." The larger of the two men ordered. She nodded and stepped forward. They led her to the Meadow just past her home. "Lay down."

She sat down on the silky grass and looked up at the cold men.

"Lay. Down."

She laid her head back against the meadow floor and looked up in confusion at the men. She was a Capitol doll, that's what she was. Cameras appeared moments later, followed by an excited man in a yellow and pink suit.

"Katniss, Katniss! How are you this morning?"

She sat up as if in surprise. "Oh. Maxfield. Hello. Not too well, to be honest." She had come to know this man by name now, as he had interviewed her twice. Gale always told her that she couldn't lie, but she didn't believe that it was entirely true. It was in moments like this, she had found, that lying came too easy. She just so desperately needed to lie, that it became almost truth.

"Tell me, what is going through your mind?" His dramatic concern matched those of all the interviewers hired by the Capitol.

Fake it 'til you make it, Katniss, she told herself. "I...I just miss him so much." She allowed herself to choke on her words for an extra effect.

"Was it hard to watch Peeta and your sister in that cave?"

"Of course it was. I mean, I...It makes me so happy to know that we feel the same way but...he may never know. I wish I could tell him."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes." The word in itself was not unexpected. Of course she had to say it, the more romance, the easier it would be for Peeta and her to play on their sympathies. Which could be easily justified as saving Prim's life as well, since the two were allies. What was unexpected was the ease at which she said it.

Almost as if it were truth.

"Who do you think will win?"

The tears were real as she felt them escape now. The thought of either of them dying pained her to no end. "I can't...I'm sorry, I can't." She jumped to her feet and started to run.

[Kitchen]

Their living room was truthfully a table in their kitchen. A table with three chairs, pointed towards a projected screen against the wall. They did not have running water, they did not have a working bathroom, and they had barely any food, but their TV worked like a charm.

Katniss watched the image projected on the wall. The cameras showed Prim and Peeta, curled up in a little ball of comfort in the cave they were forced to call home. Peeta's face showed no emotion in his sleep, while Prim managed to do the unthinkable in the arena by smiling in her sleep. Katniss couldn't blame her. She would probably smile too if she were being protected by a guy like Peeta.

Peeta knew what to say and when to say it, even if it meant lying for someone else's peace of mind. Peeta knew what to do and when to do it, even if it meant risking his life. And Peeta was just an overall nice guy.

And he loved HER of all people.

Or so she thought. And maybe hoped a little.

"That boy loves you so much."

It was probably the first words her mother had spoken to her in a week.

"He's faking it." And doing too good of a job of it, she said to herself.

"You can tell Gale that, and you can tell Madge that, and you might even be able to tell yourself that. But I see right through it."

Katniss' mouth hung open at the revelation. Her mother had never mentioned knowing anything of her life. Of course she knew Gale. Gale came over at least twice a week. But Madge was off limits. She had never stepped foot in the Seam. She was a merchant. The mayor's daughter. It was a silent, quite literally, and she had hoped secret relationship. Maybe even a friendship.

"What would you-!" Her mother cut her off and continued in a calm voice, watching the TV. "Every girl in District Twelve, and probably the Capitol as well, is falling in love with this boy. This boy, this selfless boy who is faithful to a girl, who according to him, doesn't know he exists. This selfless boy who is protecting this innocent stranger who he owes nothing to. This selfless boy who only knows how to make others happy. Don't tell me you're the only one in Panem who is immune to him."

Katniss stared at he mother, who's eyes continued to bore through the projected TV screen.

"Fine. Maybe I'm not immune. Maybe, just maybe I'm falling for him too." She fought back the tears, because if there was anyone she needed to be strong in front of was her mother. Katniss never knew how her mother would react to emotion. "But...what the hell am I supposed to do with that? If he comes back, it means Prim didn't. And I will _never_ be able to forget that. And if he _doesn't_ come back...I don't know what I'll do..."

"I know the feeling." Her mother stated simply. Her eyes radiated sadness while still staring straight ahead.

[The Capitol]

"You're not a fool. You know that, and I know that, Crane. So let's just cut to the god damn chase." Haymitch said with force. The Gamemaker towered over him, making him feel small in his ridiculous purple suit.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" The man with the beard challenged.

"We both want something, and we can both have something, we just have to cooperate."

"What do you want?" Seneca crossed his arms in frustration.

"Just...just think about this for a moment. Just one moment. You have these two kids, these two kids that have survived against all odds. So far. And, and people have grown connected to them. If they die, you...you don't know what that might do."

"We've done it for seventy-three years, Abernathy. And trust me on this, you aren't the only mentor who's tried this act. You're like all the others."

"This is different. This is different! You know what happened in Eleven. You'd have to be a damn fool to not see what's coming! There was a god damn uprising over a little girl! Can you imagine what will happen if you kill the other two?"

"What do you expect me to do? Let them both live? You know what, why not throw our hands in the air and make a big announcement? Congratulations, plot twist this year! Everyone's a winner! Yay!"

"You could pull it off. You could. Make up some rule."

"And what would happen to me? Like you said, I'd have to be a damn fool. I will NOT be the first Gamemaker to have a Games fall apart."

"You could be the first Gamemaker to stop a rebellion."

Seneca jabbed Haymitch's chest with a forceful finger. "Don't say that. There isn't a rebellion. And there never will be."

As he turned around and began to walk away, the mentor's voice followed him.

"There's only one way to make sure of that. And you know it. YOU _KNOW_ IT!

**Kinda filler chapter I guess, but I just wanted to let you know what was going on behind the scenes here :) let me know what you guys think of Katniss in this chapter. Im sorry if its not the best chapter, I just feel like I really needed to update it.******

**And you know as always that that little blue review button ruins my day by making me sad that I can't update faster. So to be a lame Clint eastwood, (Is that the right reference?)******

**Go ahead. Ruin my day.******

**I loves you :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**So a little A/N here…sorry for the confusion here with Ch 17. I tried to post it on Sunday morning, and I know that it stayed up for a least a few hours because I got several reviews during that time, and then at one point that afternoon I guess there was a problem with fanfiction? When I tried to go to the page, it said it didn't exist. **

**So I cried some.**

**And then tried putting it back up again, and Im not sure if it worked at the time but it was gone by this morning. So here I am trying AGAIN. Rawr. This happened a couple chapters back on one of fanfictions glitches…such sadness.**

**Hope it works, and I hope you like it :D**

[Prim's POV]

"Today's the day." Peeta declares as he begins to pack up the few things we have, putting it all in the makeshift bag we have. "We knew it was coming, if we don't go out there and find it, it'll find us." His voice has such an authority to it, I am nodding before I realize that I honestly don't understand what he means.

"And what is_...'it'_?" Peeta looks as if he wasn't fully aware of my presence.

"Th-the day." He says as if it were obvious.

"Oh. Right. What exactly are we doing?" I didn't look forward to leaving the cave. It was so much safer in the cave, where nobody could find us. I am absolutely certain that Marvel has been looking for us, but it would take a real stroke of luck, or the Capitol's help, to find us. Luckily the Capitol hadn't thought to help quite yet.

"I have to find Marvel. And when I find him, I'm going to try to kill him. I have to." If I didn't know him any better, I would say that Peeta was entirely capable of doing so. He was tall, much taller than me, although not nearly as tall as Marvel was. But he was strong. He was really strong, and when he got angry, he look entirely capable of killing. But I still wouldn't let him go out there alone.

"We. We're going to find him, right?"

"Prim...I don't want you to be out there, it's too dangerous." His voice reminds me of my father, in the way he would tell me not to go into the woods when I was young. Katniss still says that same thing to this day, but I doubt there is any danger in the woods. The real danger is inside the District.

"You want me to stay in here while you go out there, kill Marvel if you can, and then kill yourself so I can go home? Is that something you expect me to be okay with?"

"No, but it has to happen, whether you're okay with it or not."

"No. I'm coming with you. Now what's our plan?" I change the subject before he can argue. He takes a deep breath.

"I don't exactly...have a set plan. I'm just gonna...try my best."

"How do you expect to kill someone for the first time by just trying your best?"

"It's...it won't be the first time." Peeta avoided my gaze, turning around, and crossing his arms.

"What...who did you kill?"

"Cato."

My eyes widened at the thought. Cato was big. There just weren't any other words to describe him. He was big, he was ruthless, he was a trained killer. Peeta was a baker. 

Peeta _is_ a baker. Peeta _is _a baker because Cato _was_ a trained killer. Peeta _is_ a baker because he _killed_ Cato, who _was_ a trained killer. This same thought rearranges itself as it wraps around my mind, not fully reaching me as if there is a barrier.

"How?"

"I...I stabbed him. Twice. I stabbed him just like he had stabbed..." His voice breaks off before he can even try to gather up enough strength to say her name.

"Oh, Peeta. You're nothing like Cato. You did it in self-defense." I hold his hand to show him that it doesn't affect me, that he is not a different person.

"No. I killed him in revenge. I killed him because I wanted to. It was cold-blooded murder, Prim."

"Peeta. Stop." The authority in my small voice shocks him, and he nods. "Back to the plan. What are we going to do?" I ask him.

"I don't know if I can beat Marvel in hand-to-hand combat. I got lucky with Cato. I'd rather not take my chances. But if I have to. If I have to fight him. I want you to run. Just run, never fight him. All you have to do is outlive him. Promise me you'll outlive him?"

I can see it now. He never intended to live. He never intended to make it out of the games. I had guessed, but I didn't know until now. Not to mention his original plan to leave me in the cave. "I'm sure we'll be fine. I'm sure we will."

"If you're so sure, do you have a plan?"

"I don't necessarily have a plan but...I know how we can kill him. Painlessly."

"Painlessly?" He looks doubtful. I must seem ridiculous, wanting to kill someone as painlessly as possible, especially in this particular situation, but I no longer care about things as trivial as that. "That's good. What is it" I should have guessed that Peeta would be all for it. He is a truly good person, no matter what he thinks of himself.

"Let me show you." We step outside into the sun and for a moment I can see nothing but white. I blink my eyes until they adjust to the arena again. It feels more real now, being outside, being vulnerable again. Peeta feels it too.

"At least... Let me go first." Peeta asks me. He puts his hand on my shoulder and steps in front of me. "Now just tell me where to go."

I roll my eyes at him, as if it were ridiculous, but it really is not. I feel safer with Peeta in front of me. He is my protector. I don't know what I would do if he died. He can't die. And he won't. He has to go home. He has to go home and be Katniss' protector.

"Just...wander. It won't take long for me to find it."

"What am I looking for? I can help." He asks, nodding at me eagerly.

"These." I pull the leaves off of a light green bush by pulling from the base of the stem to the tip. "And some of this." I pick at the bark of a soft brown sapling. Taking the leaves in my hand, I rub them against the now bare piece of trunk. The leaf glistens with the familiar sap. Seeing it again brings a wave of longing for my mother. I know I am going to cry, so I turn away to hide it from Peeta.

"Prim? Prim, what's wrong?" He turns me around by the shoulder and softens when he saw my tears. "Wh-what is it?"

"I...My mother taught me to do this. She taught me how to..." I never finish my sentence because Peeta pulls me into a bear hug.

"I promise you, Prim. You're going home. And soon. Soon enough you'll see your Mom. And Katniss. And everyone else in District Twelve who you miss and who misses you."

When I shake my head, Peeta begins to get frustrated. "You will, Prim. You will! I swear to God, you will..."

I rub the tears out of my eyes and continue what I was doing before.

"Are you better?" Peeta asks cautiously.

"I'm fine. Let's just...let's just get through today."

"Okay." I hand him the fistful of leaves I have, one after the other, each handful covered in the dangerous tree sap.

"Hey. Berries." Peeta picks up a handful of berries. "D'you want some?"

I eye the fruit and grab them quickly from his hand. "Perfect." We couldn't always find these in District 12, but having them here makes things infinitely easier. "If these are what I think they are, then our job just got a lot easier. If not...well, I'm not really sure what would happen."

"You don't want to eat these?"

"No! These are poisonous, Peeta. You can't eat them, you'll be dead the moment they pass your lips."

"Oh. Okay. So, this is our weapon?"

"Not yet. It's harmless right now. Let's go back to the cave, I'll get started."

"What exactly are you doing...?" In the cave, Peeta sets the leaves on the smooth surface of the ground. I pick up a rock from the edge and begin to pulverize the leaves. The sap seeps into the gentle veins of the leaf, turning black when the berries press into them with the rock. "You never asked me what I did to get my training score."

"Oh. Well, honestly...I didn't know if you did anything."

"Oh, I did. It just wasn't very impressive at the time."

"Okay, I'll bite. What did you do?"

I put the rock between my palms and spin it to crush to deadly concoction. "Back home, my Mom was a healer...well you probably already knew that, but...anyway, she taught me a lot about it. But sometimes you couldn't always heal them. Sometimes the best you could do for them and their families was to help them die without pain. I learned to make poison when I was eight. I didn't even know what I was making back then. But I know now, and I definitely knew when I turned ten. That was when I had to put somebody down for the first time."

"So you made poison for the Gamemakers?" Peeta laughs a little. "Who volunteered for that job?"

"A rat, actually. I requested one. I didn't want to, not at first. With people, I know when I'm helping them over hurting them. But with animals, I know they're perfectly healthy, and I'm just killing them. Katniss always laughs at me for it."

"I get it." Peeta says. "I do. Maybe that's 'cause I'm soft. Heh. But I do get it. You feel better when you're helping someone. And you never feel good when you hurt someone."

"Well, anyway. I killed the rat. The only problem, the only reason I got a two for a score is that...well none of the Gamemakers knew what I was doing. So they didn't know it was poison. I must have looked ridiculous to them. A small girl from District Twelve comes in and strangles a rat with an organic milkshake." We both glance at the pasty substance I had formed. It is a dark gray color, despite the green pigments of the leaf. Poison is strong.

"I guess they underestimated that two, huh?"

"Looks like it."

I work in silence for another few minutes before it is broken by a voice that is not Peeta's.

"Attention all tributes. Attention all tributes."  
><strong><br>****GAHH cliffhanger. I know I'm mean. But I had to cut this chapter in half. It was just getting too long, so I'll post the second half sometimes this week :)******

**PS: Things are about to get good.******

**It's about. To go. Down.******

**Review please :)**


	18. Chapter 18

[Prim's POV]

"Attention all tributes. Attention all tributes."

Peeta and I look at each other with wide eyes. Whatever the reason that Claudius Templesmith's voice is echoing throughout the arena, I can be almost certain that we are not prepared for it. We both know that announcements in the arena can only mean game changers. What we don't know is just how much his next words could change everything.

"There has been a temporary rule change that will apply to the 74th annual Hunger Games of Panem. As of this moment, if the remaining two tributes of the Games are a young man and woman, both shall be crowned victor. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

Peeta's eyes turn to saucers. "You're going home, Prim. You're safe, you're going home!" He grabbed the hand that wasn't crushing up the leaves before me and gripped it tightly. "I did it. We. We did it."

"You're going home too, Peeta." I assured him.

"Yeah, maybe. Not yet, though. But I guess I have to now. I promised Katniss."

"You promised her you'd come home?"

Peeta looks uncomfortable. I can just imagine Katniss sitting at home, her knees curled up into her chest, watching the scene with piercing eyes. "I promised her that you'd come home. And then she made me promise that if anything happened to you that I would come home. Does that count, really?"

"Of course it counts, Peeta." I look back at the poison that I am still absentmindedly formulating. "We could go home."

**XXX XXX XXX**

With the poison safely in Peeta's pocket, contained in a small pouch made from a piece of the fabric of his jacket, we step more confidently outside of the cave for the last time.

"Okay. It shouldn't be long before we find him. Or he finds us." Peeta starts. "They want this to end soon. I bet the people have been getting restless with the lack of violence lately. The sun is already going down, and it's been out for maybe three hours."

"Restless." I shake my head at the Capitol. "Yeah, let's see them try playing these Games, see if they call it restless then."

Peeta shoots me a glare full of fear. I can feel my heart nearly stop as I think about what I just said. Peeta reminds me of my mother in this moment, and how the look she would always give Katniss when we were very young. Katniss would always casually bring up the most sensitive matters, or so I was told by my mother. At the time, I didn't know right from wrong. I do remember one time, how Katniss made a suggestion that we just go to sleep because we were tired after such a long day, that we should just go to sleep and skip the mandatory viewing of the Games.

Neither my mother or sister ever told me for a fact, but I'm fairly smart for my age. I know my father must have said these things on a regular basis. Not in the district however. He was smarter than his ten year old daughter. He must have said them in the woods, just as Katniss and Gale probably still do.

I change the subject. "I always hate this part. Watching it, I mean." I remember the times I would cry into Katniss' side when I should have been watching, according to the Capitol.

"Well then, don't watch." Peeta's words shock me to the core, the same way mine must have shocked him. The most televised place in Panem is not the best time to suggest such an illegal thing. "Here, I mean." He adds, and I breathe a sigh of relief. "It's not mandatory here, you know."

"But I want to help." I can hear the whine in my voice.

"You don't need to help. If you get involved, I'll just be distracted, trying to protect you. It'll probably come down to hand-to-hand. That's how careers prefer to fight, anyway. Just…when the fighting starts, stay out of the way."

I give in and nod, all the while knowing that if Peeta needs my help, I'll give it to him.

"Okay. Now, I think we should draw him in. Let's start a fire. He'll find us soon enough." Peeta squats in the small clearing we have walked into in the wooded area. It takes him less than a minute to start a fire, which then turns into a bonfire.

"Where did you learn to do that?" His hands seem to know just what to do as he adds branches here and there. He leans down and blows on the fire, getting dangerously close. The flames erupt and grow even taller.

"I started the oven fires at the bakery. Been doing it for years. Now just sit back and wait."

Neither of us sit.

"Prim…please listen to me when I say this. I…I'm going to have to kill him. If I can. I don't even know if I can, really…but please, I-I don't want you to see it. Whether he kills me, or I kill him…I don't want you to see it."

"Peeta, whatever you do, you won't change for me. You won't. You're still you. You're still Peeta, you're still a nice guy who is utterly selfless."

"I'll be Peeta, the guy who's killed two people."

"So? This is the Hunger Games. You have to kill people! Just think of it this way…you're Peeta. The guy who saved me. The guy who fought Careers so that a twelve-year old girl wouldn't have to."

There is a rustle in the trees that is barely heard, along with a sinister snicker. "Or think about it this way, Lover Boy…you're Peeta. The pathetic baker boy who is about to die in front of everyone who he has ever known. Or if you want to, you can be Peeta. The guy who is about to watch his District partner die too."

Peeta is instantly on alert, pulling his knife from his belt. "Marvel."

"Oh, you know my name? How nice. I feel so special. But of course you would know it. You _are_ Mr. Nice Guy, aren't you? According to blondie, anyway. Sadly if she doesn't speak up now, that'll be the last time she delivers a compliment. How 'bout you give one over here? You could tell me wonderful my hair looks today. I must say, I do like this haircut." He says dramatically.

Peeta steps forward cautiously. "C'mon, man. She doesn't have to die. You heard the announcement. Even if I die, she can still go home. You can both be victors. You would even be considered a gracious victor. That's even better."

His argument is so convincing, I almost believe it myself.

"Yeah, well maybe I don't want to be gracious. Maybe I want to be the only victor. I can still be the only victor. All I have to do, is kill her first."

"Over my dead body."

Marvel hesitates. I can see it by the expression on his face, that he is not sure where to go from there. If he kills Peeta, we both win, and he doesn't get what he wants. And he can't kill me, not without killing Peeta first.

"Alright. I see how its gonna be. I'll make you a deal. I'll fight you. No weapons. But the girl stays here."

"No."

"What other choice do you have?"

Peeta falters at this and I can see his face paling.

"Do it, Peeta." I say. "Just do it."

"See? Even blondie knows you have no choice. C'mon, now. No weapons."

Peeta throws his knife to the side, the blade sticking into the base of a tree. The sound in itself is intimidating. I am glad that Marvel can't be sure if Peeta is really that capable. I know for a fact that Peeta is nowhere near good enough for that to have been intentional.

"Fine. On three?"

"Alright, if you insist. One, two…"

"Three." They both say together.

I should have expected it, but it still shocks me when their bodies come in contact. Neither of them tumble to the ground. In fact, Marvel has Peeta pinned up against a tree in seconds. Peeta resists against him. I am thinking that Marvel is about to step back to give him some room to breathe when the District 1 tribute's fist hits Peeta's nose in a well served punch. The smack sounds almost as painful as the sound of the back of his head hitting the rough tree bark.

Peeta wipes the blood dripping from his nose. I can tell it's broken. I've treated them before. They were surprisingly common in District 12, with the chronic anger that always seemed to fill the houses of the Seam. Even Rory had gotten one once. It was maybe a month or two before the reaping. He had apparently gotten in some sort of fight with someone at school. He never really explained it to me, and I spent the time that I healed his nose telling him cheerful stories about the silliest things.

I wish now, that I could do the same for Peeta. Ignoring the broken nose now, Peeta pushed Marvel back and tackled him to the ground. I had seen him wrestle before. I would watch the wrestling competitions with the Hawthornes sometimes. Gale rarely came, and Katniss never did. Peeta's only competition were his brothers, and with the strength training he had had before the games, I could tell that Peeta could easily succeed if he really tried.

"Prim!"

I am about to step forward to help him when I realize that that is the opposite of what he wants. He's yelling to remind me not to look. I want to look away just as much as he wants me to, but I just can't. My eyes are fixed on the two.

Somehow Marvel manages to kick Peeta backwards and off of him in a move that only a trained Career could manage. Peeta stumbles back and stands up, quickly taking advantage. His boot comes down on Marvel's groin seconds later.

Marvel lets out a strangled cry. Peeta cringes as if he can feel his pain. His boot moves up from Marvel's groin to his chest, trapping him underneath his foot with all of his weight.

"I'm sorry." Peeta mumbles as he reaches into his pocket to pull out the poison we had concocted.

Before he can take it out, Marvel spits obnoxiously to the side of him and says, "Yeah. Me too."

Peeta frowns. "You? A career tribute? Sorry? For what?"

"My district." He spits out. "Sure, you don't see it. All we ever do is scare the living shit outta you guys, right?" Peeta's hand remains in his pocket, unmoving.

"Maybe. But you're a career. Can't exactly blame us can you?"

"They don't call us careers back in District One." Marvel manages to shift underneath the weight of his boot, putting Peeta on high alert. "We're called the guardians. Saviors and all. Sure, we do some training. But there's never a guarantee that you'll go into the games. We're quite the group, you know? The guardians. Most of us are already famous in our District by the time we turn eighteen. I was, at least. My brother too. We protect them. Nobody ever goes into the games unless they want to." Marvel looks directly at me now, raising his head slightly. "But you guys aren't that lucky, are you? Nope. So that's what I'm sorry for. My district. That I couldn't win. But what the hell, right? I did my job. I protected them. That's all I ever had to do, right? So kill me. Be a hero and kill me."

The true cruelty of the Capitol hits me like bolt of lightning.

I can see the pain on Peeta's face, looking down at the defeated Career. Marvel seemed perfectly fine with his fate. He nodded to Peeta. "Do it."

"No." Peeta shook his head. "I-I can't."

"Yes, you can. You killed Cato."

"Cato was cruel."

"I'm cruel too."

"No. You're not."

"Damn it, Mellark! Just do it! You obviously don't have a fucking crossbow in your pocket! It's poison. I know its poison, just give it to me."

Peeta is still shaking his head.

"Mellark. You have a reason to go home. If I go home, I have nothing. Nothing! Just give me the poison." These seem to be the magic words because Peeta nods slowly.

"I'm sorry." He just barely whispers as he pulls the improvised pouch out of his pocket. It has turned into a pitch black paste now, and Peeta's hand shakes as he lowers it to Marvel's mouth. Peeta's hand covers his mouth and looks away. He can't see the painful sight of Marvel immediately panicking, whether it was from knowing that he was about to die or that he can no longer breathe. He only struggles for a few more seconds before Marvel's body goes eerily still. Peeta backs up and stumbles onto the ground, laying on his back.

"Peeta? Are you okay?" I rush to his side and notice just how pale he is, especially against the blood from his nose.

"Peachy." He manages to say sarcastically. I'm surprised that even in this moment, Peeta manages to make a joke. It doesn't last. "I'm so sorry, Prim."

"Don't worry about it…" I say with a small smile. "I have good news."

"What's that?"

"We just won The Hunger Games."

**Hehehe another suspenseful chapter :D so they won the games, huh? Or so you think *crazy psychotic/murderous look* **

**I hope Marvel's OOC-ness wasn't too much for you guys. I kind of have this closet obsession with Marvel, or maybe with Jack Quaid, can't decide yet… But I just really wanted to do this because I think Marvel is Marvelous. Yep.**

**So leave me a review letting me know who you are hoping/thinking will win the games. Or you can leave me a review because you love me.**

**No pressure. **


	19. Chapter 19

_PREVIOUSLY_

"_Peachy." He manages to say sarcastically. I'm surprised that even in this moment, Peeta manages to make a joke. It doesn't last. "I'm so sorry, Prim."_

"_Don't worry about it…" I say with a small smile. "I have good news."_

"_What's that?"_

"_We just won The Hunger Games." _

"We did. We really won." Peeta grabs me and squeezes me almost too tightly. He doesn't let go for several minutes until the constant silence finds a meaning for us.

"Peeta? Um…why aren't they…why aren't they announcing it?"

He lets go of me and turns his back to me, with his face to the sky. "I don't…I don't know. They should be. They're _supposed_ to be. We won. They changed the rules. We won." Peeta's ramblings are no longer for me, or even for the audience. The talking is for him alone, a mantra he repeats over and over. "We won. We won. We won. Why…why…god damn it, WE WON!" Peeta picks up a heavy rock on the ground and hurls it at least fifteen feet away.

His head whips around to face me when we hear the familiar click of a microphone. "Attention all tributes. Attention all tributes."

"No." Peeta shakes his head, and I can see that he is doing his best to control his anger.

"The temporary rule change has been revised. From this point on in the-"

A loud metallic sound brings our hands to our ears in self defense. The microphone makes the same clicking sound once more. A younger, more determined voice spoke. "Congratulations to the victors of the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games."

Before Peeta and I can react again, a hovercraft joins us. Desperate to escape, Peeta wraps an arm around me, leading me to the ladder that has descended. The games are over, and he still protects me.

**XXX XXX XXX**

The doors to the control room open in a loud, dramatic rush.

"Mr. Crane. President Snow requests your presence."

The man with the intricate beard places his hands in his pockets and nods. He was prepared for this.

In the President's Game room, two peacekeepers guard each door. The President stands next to a luxurious velvet chair in front of the TV screen, a drink in his hand, fresh from the small bar kept on the other side of the room.

"Mr. Crane. How nice of you to pay me a visit."

He gulps as they stare each other down. The President always seems more bearable when he isn't in the room with you.

"You requested me."

"Ah. Yes. Now I remember."

The temptation to roll his eyes is strong, but Seneca controls himself. "Can I help you?" Just the loss of the word "Sir" is a rebellion in itself when addressing the president. He no longer had anything to fear. Seneca Crane was a dead man, and he knew it.

"Yes. I find myself very confused today. Perhaps you could shed some light."

"Continue."

"First off, I will speak when I like."

"Of course." Seneca nodded curtly.

"I find these Games fascinating, you know. Especially this year's. Because apparently, after seventy-three years…we have decided to adopt a new rule?"

"There were…extenuating circumstances." Seneca defends.

"Extenuating circumstances…yes, that does seem to fit quite nicely as an excuse. Tell me now…what were these circumstances?"

"There was a uh…an uprising."

"Oh I know. You think I wasn't aware? You're very naïve then, . Of course I knew."

"I was…informed. That if the boy or the girl were killed, they would be martyrs. And with a rebellion being held at bay, we can't exactly risk it, now can we?"

"You know, it's funny, Seneca." President Snow stepped closer to him. "We've had these Games for more than seven decades now. And the truly fascinating thing is…there has never once been even a thought of rebellion. That is…until you came along. So it seems that we have identified the problem."

"It seems you have." Seneca responded bitterly.

"And with a rebellion being held at bay," He said, repeating Seneca's words. "We can't exactly risk having this problem around, now can we?"

"No. We can't."

**I know this chapter is really short, but I just wanted to update. Plus, I had to get all of this out there so I could move on to the good stuff Next chapter they go back to District 12 and its all Katniss POV from there.**

**By the way, sorry for the confusion earlier, I updated two stories at the same time, and when I tried to update my other story "Forbidden Fruit" I ended up posting that chapter under this fanfiction D: and of course when I checked I had this freak out seizure moment of OHGODWHYMYLIFEISOVER but now its all good :D**

**Please review **


End file.
